Take action to support THY workers!

In May of last year Turkish Airlines unfairly sacked 305 of its employees – by text message, phone or email – simply for protesting against a plan to remove their already limited rights to take industrial action. This attempt to remove their fundamental rights was the last straw for the Turkish Airlines workers. As they […]


September 30, 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

Hava-Is members demand court order is acted on

Hava-Is members staged a protest on 23 July in front of Istanbul’s Caglayan Courthouse, to condemn the use of strike-breakers by Turkish Airlines (THY) management and inaction of the authorities despite a clear court verdict. They asked for an immediate implementation of the court ruling, and chanted slogans like: “Long live our THY strike,” “Stop […]


July 25, 2013

ITF condemns use of strike-breakers by THY

The ITF has expressed its ongoing concern regarding the use of strike-breakers by the Turkish Airlines (THY) and inaction of the Turkish Ministry of Labour and Social Security. On Monday 8 July, a labour court in Istanbul ordered THY to stop using employees it hired as replacements for workers that have been on strike since […]


July 12, 2013

Hava-Is reports that evidence presented to the Turkish Labour Court details strikebreaking tactics used by THY

An expert report into Turkish Airlines’ (THY) anti-union practices, shows that the airline management has used strike-breakers and violated the national legal framework of Turkey. Some of the THY workers are on strike since 15 May 2013. The report reveals that THY has been hiring temporary staff (particularly from Sun Express) to maintain personnel numbers […]


July 3, 2013

Turkish Airlines staff puts out impressive safety video to support strike (huffingtonpost.com)

Striking staff members of Turkish Airlines joined the protests in Istanbul on Wednesday, tying their ongoing battle for better working conditions to the mass demonstrations against the Erdogan government that started last week. To raise awareness, the airline’s flight attendants put out a quite remarkable in-flight safety briefing. We would like to draw your attention […]


June 7, 2013