Turkey's parliament has passed a legislation that bans strikes and lockouts in the aviation sector amid protests that forced Turkish Airlines to cancel about 200 flights earlier this week, AP reported. The Parliament voted on late Wednesday night, a day after hundreds of ground handlers, technicians and other workers at Istanbul's main airport staged a protest and work slowdown, many reporting ill. Mustafa Yagci, secretary general of the civil aviation workers union Hava-is, said Thursday they expect the president to veto the legislation because it violates rights of workers to strike. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday the legislation was designed to prevent interruptions in air travel. The government said it was keen to make the Turkish Airlines, which is expanding its network around the world day by day, immune to strikes.
