Labour Movement in Turkey (15 November - 15 December 2022)

Workers’ struggle keeps going against low wages, hostility towards unions, oppression and bans.

• Pulver Chemical workers in Kocaeli/Gebze, Marlboro workers in İzmir/Torbalı, Barutçu Textile workers in Bursa, Nersoy Textile workers in Zonguldak/Çaycuma, Çiftay Mining workers in Erzincan... They are all in resistance for their rights.
• Ece Ceramic workers in Zonguldak and Atiskan Plaster workers in Eskişehir continue their strikes.
• In Samsun, Ondokuz Mayıs University workers from Tez Koop-İş union continue their strike.
• In Bursa, 4,500 workers at Yeşim Textile (Almaxtex) went on strike after the collective bargaining negotiations yielded no result. The strike resulted in an agreement on the second day.
• Having been fired because of unionisation, workers of Yasin Çakır Flour factory started picketing. The struggle of workers from DISK/Gıda- İş union ended in victory.
• Upon call of Turkish Pharmacists' Association (TEB), pharmacists held a massive and enthusiastic rally in Ankara in order to call attention to the pharmaceutical crisis and raise their demands.
• On 21 July 2022, home care workers from the subcontractor company of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality were laid off. Workers took various actions and were promised by the municipality to be reinstated. 31 workers keep struggling.
• Unionised under DISK/Sağlık-İş union, workers at Koç University Hospital were laid off. They keep fighting for their rights.
• Over 200 workers, who unionised at Eczacıbaşı Esan mining, were laid off on the pretext of “downscaling". Workers keep struggling through various actions.
• On 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, women took to the streets in various cities. Despite the police violence and all the obstacles, women gathered in squares.
• The strike of Bekaert workers has been banned by the decision of President Erdogan. The workers from Birleşik Metal-İş union ignored the ban and hung the strike banner on the gate.