No come back for laid-off workers, THY chair says

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

A group of members of Hava-İş union are seen during a protest in front of a main Turkish Airlines facility in Istanbul. DHA photo

Turkish Airlines, the national flag carrier of Turkey would not re-hire 305 employees fired earlier this month because of their participation in a so-called walkout with only a court order capable of changing their attitude, Hamdi Topçu, the airlines chairman has said, adding that those who participated in a labor action at Atatürk Airport were marked by surveillance cameras.

“Turkish Airlines is a private company with its 51 percent of its stakes publicly traded. The laid-off people can only return to their jobs on a judicial ruling,” daily Hürriyet quoted him as saying yesterday.

Minister seeks resolution

However, Labor Minister Faruk Çelik told journalist yesterday that he would meet with Topçu today to discuss the condition of the sacked workers. “Our aim is to act as a sound mediator and settle the matter,” he said in Ankara yesterday, adding that the issue was also discussed at the International Labor Organization meeting in earlier this month in Geneva.

Hava-İş members conducted a slowdown strike May 29, protesting a draft law banning strikes and lockouts in the aviation industry. But the draft was approved by the parliament and the law went into effect on June 3. Topçu said he took the issue of re-hiring sacked workers to the board because the president of the trade union [Hava-İş] had insisted to him that although Topçu. No member of the board voted to revoke the lay-off decision, he added.

“We have high definition images. Ones who joined the walk out, inhibited those who wanted to work are all identified with surveillance camera images clearly,” he said.

THY,