First steps agreed in bid for Gulf aviation basic rights

The session on anti-union Gulf states this morning heard from an ITF panel composed of Sarah Finke, Mahendra Sharma, Stuart Howard, and Gabriel Mocho. They covered the following points: Freedom of association in the Gulf States is a regional matter but also a global one. Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways are global businesses that avoid […]


September 12, 2013

USA: Safety and health protections in the cabin become reality thanks to unions

On 22 August 2013, Edward Wytkind, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), made the following statement in support of the FAA’s final policy statement addressing flight attendant workplace safety in conjunction with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA): “Today’s [22th of August’s] announcement by the FAA means that America’s flight attendants who […]


August 28, 2013

Ryanair loses in Norwegian court (NewsinEnglish.no)

Flight attendant Allesandra Cocca has claimed she was wrongly dismissed from her job while stationed at Ryanair’s Norwegian based at the Rygge Airport south of Moss. Cocca revealed details of what it’s like to work for Ryanair – how new employees start off in debt to the airline because they’ve had to pay for their […]


August 22, 2013

Civil aviation women build links and leadership skills

Seventeen women civil aviation workers from ITF affiliates worldwide including pilots, cabin crew, mechanics, baggage handlers and air traffic controllers participated in a leadership programme for women trade unionists in Esher, UK last week. It was co-designed and delivered by Alison McGarry, ITF women’s coordinator and Dr Elaine Bernard, executive director of Harvard Labour and […]


August 7, 2013

German politicians urge football club to drop Turkish Airlines

On 2 August 2013, just before the start of the German football season, Inge Höger, a German politician who represents the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in the German parliament Bundestag and Andrej Hunko, a German MP of the Left party for Aachen, sent a joint letter to the president of Borussia Dortmund, asking him to […]


August 5, 2013

One air freight dispute settles whilst another cargo and passenger labour scenario worsens (handyshippingguide.com)

As one labour dispute at an air freight carrier seems to be heading for a resolution, another simply sees the relationship between a combined cargo and passenger carrier worsen. Our previous stories (1) (2) have outlined the problems besetting all cargo airline Cargolux and combination carrier Turkish Airlines (THY), but whilst the Luxembourg based outfit […]


July 29, 2013

ITF alleges law-breaking by Turkish Airlines and government

The ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation) and its affiliated union Hava-Is today presented further evidence to the International Labour Organization (ILO) alleging unlawful behaviour by Turkish Airlines (THY) and the Turkish government. The two organisations first lodged a complaint against Turkey with the ILO in March over THY’s unfair dismissal of 305 workers and the […]


July 26, 2013

More comments from the ITF affiliates on the Asiana crash flight

Jo-Ann Davidson, Secretary of the Flight Attendants’ Association of Australia (FAAA) stated: “The FAAA commends Asiana Airlines On-Board Manager, Lee Yoon-hye and her cabin crew. Their actions reflect the true essence of all cabin crew as safety professionals.” (See the Facebook page link of the FAAA) In this video, the Transport Workers Union (TWU) flight […]


July 15, 2013