The initiative by air traffic controllers for their employment rights, which began in September last year, was temporarily halted with the promise that their issues would be resolved through legal amendments to be included in the Ministry of Transport’s omnibus bill. However, it has been learned that subsequent efforts have once again been obstructed by “bureaucratic hurdles” and the process has stalled.
Promising Statements Turn into Disappointment
Despite breaking records in the aviation sector, the demands of air traffic controllers have been ignored once again. Months of hopeful anticipation have given way to deep disappointment. Despite their outstanding performance that has placed them at the top in Europe and their significant economic contributions to our country, the employment rights of the controllers remain far behind those of their peers.
Falling Behind EUROCONTROL Countries
While the 41 countries within the EUROCONTROL organization provide better salaries and employment rights to their air traffic controllers, resulting in greater foreign currency inflows to their countries, progress in Turkey on this issue remains stagnant. This matter, highlighted for years in the Court of Accounts’ State Economic Enterprises reports and other official documents, has seen no significant progress in our country.
Significant Economic Losses
Despite our President’s efforts to eliminate sluggish bureaucracy under the vision of the Turkish Century, ignoring the demands of air traffic controllers is unacceptable. Due to these arbitrary obstructions, our country loses hundreds of millions of Euros in foreign currency every year. While the public sector’s savings package aims for a total savings of 100 billion lira, the failure to meet the demands of air traffic controllers alone results in an annual loss of approximately 20 billion lira.
Decision to Take Action
The HTK-SEN Union Executive Board has decided to resume the initiative of working without taking any new initiatives for the employment rights of air traffic controllers. Accordingly, a non-initiative work activity will be conducted on May 24-26, 2024, and this activity will be resolutely continued until the demands are met.
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