May Day 2021 in Turkey
The pandemic has been made an excuse for repression and bans in Turkey as it is across the World. The rulers has not been taking any efficient measures to eliminate the pandemic such as effective vaccination. While pharmaceutical monopolies and many other capitalists are growing, workers face grabbing of their rights. This year’s May Day came amid this offensive. May Day is an international day of struggle which workers and labourers raise their voices as one against all these pressures, violations of rights and increasingly deepening poverty. Celebrations of this significant day have been prohibited with the excuse of “full lockdown” in Turkey this year.
However, combative workers continue to keep alive the glorious history of the Day of International Solidarity and Unity of the Working Class despite all the bans. Workers from metal, petrochemistry, transportation, health, food and many other sectors chanted the slogan “Long Live May Day” in their workplaces. They remained loyal to and upheld the May Day tradition. By various activities at their workplaces, workers continued to shout out their demands. Labour organizations also made press statements in many cities of Turkey. Gebze Trade Unions Platform met on 29 April in Gebze where one of the most important industrial hotbeds of Turkey. DISK (Confederation of Revolutionary Workers’ Unions) officials were at the entrance of Kazancı street at Taksim Square to remember the workers who were murdered on 1 May 1977.
As Association of International Workers’ Solidarity (UID-DER), we keep on organising determinedly among the working class despite the pandemic conditions. While the working class and its organizations face enormous pressure under the present oppressive regime, we have been able to strengthen our links with workers and labourers. Through videos and internet programming that we reach out to many workers and we try to raise the consciousness of workers using the historical struggle experiences as content.
We brought workers together in workplaces, trade unions and houses by some video screening activities. We experienced the excitement of May Day together. From April 30 to May 3, we kept the spirit of May Day alive with the 4-day long programming “May Day: Undying Flame” which tells the story of May Day in our website [1]. In the programming, the historical course of May Day and the struggles for a shorter workday around the world were explained. The programming consisted of poems of struggle, greeting videos, pictures, music, writings that describe the common heritage of the international working class. It was followed by thousands of people. The programming was full of messages reflecting the May Day enthusiasm and spirit of struggling workers both from Turkey and different countries around the world.
The need for unity and solidarity of the working class around the world is of vital importance in this chaotic process. As UID-DER, we believe that the class struggle must be organized internationally, not only nationally. As part of the deepening historical crisis of capitalism at present, the capitalist rulers step up oppression and introduce more prohibitions all over the world. Authoritarian regimes are gaining more power. In response, we continue to stand against all kinds of national, religious, racial and sexual discrimination among the working class. To resist the attacks of capitalism and further the struggle of the working class it is a must to maintain and strengthen the work of organizing among the working class under all circumstances. This is what enabled us to resist successfully the atmosphere of fear and panic. We keep on our activities in trade unions, workplaces and working-class neighbourhoods. We must advance the fight all together against the worldwide attacks of the capitalist class against the working class!
Long Live May Day! Long Live International Unity and Solidarity of the Working Class!
