15,000 workers at 22 factories, where Birleşik Metal-İş is organised, chose to go on strike. On Thursday, 29 January, workers shut off the power at Cengiz Makine factory in Gebze, which was subsequently followed by other factories. Thousands of workers from various unions and many democratic mass organisations, including UID-DER were present to support the strike. On 30 January, the AKP government passed a resolution to ban the strike. However, the strike of thousands of fighting metal workers has already aroused enthusiasm among broader toiling masses and started to cultivate consciousness of rights-claiming among workers.
