Aviation workers prepare for strike action in Turkey

April 16, 2011

Aviation workers in Turkey are set to take strike action in a dispute over pay and conditions.

Aviation maintenance workers, represented by the ITF-affiliated Hava-Is union, announced on 12 April that it would embark on strike action, following a refusal by their employer Turkish Engine Center (TEC) to agree on a fair settlement. The union and company, in which US-based company Pratt and Whitney holds a controlling share, have been unable to agree on 18 out of 108 points that have been under negotiation.

Hava-Is president Atilay Aycin explained why the talks between the company and the union had collapsed two weeks ago. He said: “First by resorting to the anti-democratic provisions of the trade union law, they delayed our bargaining rights for almost a year. This happened even though Pratt and Whitney managers promised to respect union rights at a meeting we had in 2009. For 112 days we adopted a very responsible approach while they took an increasingly hostile attitude at the bargaining table.”

He also highlighted how force had allegedly been used against the union’s educational secretary, Ayhan Uygun while he was trying to carry out his union duties. If there were going to be attacks against Hava-Is, he said, there would be no production in the workplace.

The strike announcement is being followed by a 60-day period of negotiation; industrial action is likely to take place in the first half of May if no agreement is reached.

Last month, the ITF sent a letter of protest to both the TEC operations director and president of Pratt and Whitney over the alleged intimidation of Ayhan Uygum.

Click here to watch a video of the workers protesting outside the TEC building in Istanbul.