Turkey keeps 24 workers in jail over Istanbul airport protests

A Turkish court on Wednesday ordered 24 workers and union activists to stay in jail after they were detained in a mass crackdown over protests on working conditions at Istanbul's giant new airport.

Hundreds of workers from the airport had been rounded up at the weekend after reportedly protesting and striking over alleged labour violations in the frenetic construction to finish the airport on time for its opening next month.

The airport, which has yet to be officially named, is a key project championed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to make Istanbul a global travel hub and turn flag carrier Turkish Airlines into an aviation giant.

But workers at the airport have made complaints ranging from alleged violations of labour safety which led to dozens of deaths on the site to a lack of properly organised transport to take them to and from the new airport close to the Black Sea.

Some 36,000 people are working at the site as the clock ticks to the official opening on 29 October and complete shift of flights from Ataturk International Airport which is then to be immediately closed.

Most of those detained in the weekend sweep were released without charge but 43 appeared before a judge at a court in the Istanbul district of Gaziosmanpasa late Tuesday.

The government must ensure that there is no further retaliation against workers for refusing unsafe work, which is their fundamental right

- International Trade Union Confederation

Of them, 24 were remanded in custody while 19 were allowed to go free under judicial control, the DHA news agency reported.

The figures were confirmed by construction labour union Insaat Is-Sendikasi on its Twitter account. There had been uproar on social media over the initial detentions under hashtag #Koledegiliz (We are not slaves).

Those under arrest have been presented with charges including damaging public property, violating demonstration laws and defying police orders, DHA added.

The transport ministry on Tuesday issued a statement blaming "marginal groups" for the protests and insisting that the official opening was still scheduled for 29 October.

It said IGA - the Turkish consortium building the new airport - had talked to workers to discuss their demands and their problems.

"Measures were taken without any delay. The works are continuing," the ministry added.

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) last week criticised the arrest of the construction workers and called for the "urgent and legitimate demands of the workers" to be met.

"We call on the immediate and unconditional release of all protesters," they said in a statement.

"The government must ensure that there is no further retaliation against workers for refusing unsafe work, which is their fundamental right."