Labour Movement in Turkey (15 December 2023 - 15 January 2024)

Speaking up against the attacks of the capitalist class and the government, workers entered the new year in struggle.

• On 7 December, doctors and health workers took action in front of Istanbul University Çapa Faculty of Medicine. They protested the suspension of the Central Council members of the Turkish Medical Association (TTB).
• Demanding “Justice in Income, Justice in Taxation”, DİSK staged protests across 11 cities throughout December.
• Upon the call of Bursa Democracy Forces, workers held a rally in Osmangazi City Square on 17 December. Workers from UİD-DER also participated in the rally organized under the slogan “No to Price Hikes and Poverty!”
• On 24 December, workers who have to complete extra premium days to qualify for a pension held a meeting for their usurped rights at Beşiktaş Mustafa Kemal Culture Center.
• On 17 December, subcontracted workers in the public sector staged a protest in Kadıköy to demand permanent jobs.
• Özak Textile workers in Urfa demand an end to oppression at the workplace and recognition of their freedom to choose a union. Led by BİRTEK-SEN union, the workers have been resisting since 27 November.
• On 21 December, at Şahinkul Makina factory in Bursa, workers organised under Birleşik Metal-İş union went on strike after the collective bargaining negotiations yielded no result.
• Organised under the Journalists' Union of Turkey (TGS), Sputnik Turkey workers continue their strike. Having been fired because of joining Petrol-İş union at Burda Bebek factory, 7 women workers keep picketing. In Izmir, women workers from Agrobay Greenhouse, who were fired for joining the Tarım-Sen union, continue their struggle.
• On 8 January in Adana, workers staged a warning strike at TEMSA bus manufacturing factory, which is affiliated to Turkish Employers’ Association of Metal Industries (MESS). Unionised under Özçelik-İş, workers refused overtime working and downed tools 15 minutes early. Chanting slogans, they marched to the shuttle buses.
• On 9 January, DİSK/Emekli-Sen (Pensioners’ unions) made a mass press statement at Ulus Square in Ankara. In its statement, the union called for “organising powerfully”.
• On 8 January, Türk Harb-İş Union branches in Istanbul, Izmir, Kayseri, Kocaeli, Sakarya, Adana, Izmir and Eskişehir started a march to Ankara demanding an additional raise. On 10 January, the protests ended with a press statement in front of the union's central office in Ankara.
• On 8 January, workers from Demiryol-İş union took action to demand an additional raise at TÜRASAŞ wagon factory in Sivas. On 9 January, hundreds of workers from TÜRASAŞ Eskişehir Regional Directorate organised a march and demanded an additional raise. Workers also protested Demiryol-İş union officials. On 10 January, workers from Sakarya Regional Directorate staged a protest with the same demand.
• On 9 January, workers from the Diyarbakır Regional Branch of Dev Sağlık-İş union held a press statement in front of Dicle University Hospital. They demanded an additional protocol.
• Working at the Kromevye factory in Esenyurt, Istanbul, Besra Demir was dismissed without compensation for objecting to pressure and mobbing. Together with Birleşik Metal-İş union, Demir says that she will fight against injustice until she wins. Demir is supported by his colleagues in the factory with slogans and work slowdown actions.
• Yapı Merkezi broke its promise to pay the wages of 1000 workers. In response, workers from Dev Yapı-İş union went on a wildcat strike to get their rights. Tanzanian workers from the same company also took actions simultaneously because of their unpaid wages. On 11 January, the struggle of the workers from Tanzanian railway project resulted in a victory.
• In the metal industry, authorised unions and the bosses' organisation MESS had been negotiating on the 2023-2025 Group Collective Bargaining Agreement. Negotiations reached a stalemate at the mediation process. Organised under Birleşik Metal-İş union, workers are protesting the impositions of MESS through one-hour work stoppages on Mondays and Fridays. They are also protesting the miserable pay raise offered by MESS in various cities. MESS increased 35% raise offer to 50% and then to 60%. Having refused these offers, workers organised under Birleşik Metal-İş union welcomed 2024 with the decision to strike. The Türk Metal union also announced its decision to go on strike against impositions of the MESS.
• On 11 January, Birleşik Metal-İş union made a press statement and announced the strike calendar. Birleşik Metal-İş will go on strike in various workplaces starting from 19 January, and new factories will follow suit on 23 and 24 January.