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Labour Movement in Turkey (15 January - 15 Fabruary 2024)
Workers Organize and Fight for Their Rights!
22.02.2024
- At Mersen factory in Gebze, the employer denied the right to unionize and fired 4 workers. Organized under Birleşik Metal-İş union, workers protested the dismissals.
- At Beyda Gıda factory in İstanbul/Beylikdüzü, 5 workers were fired after they joined Öz Gıda-İş union. The workers started resistance in front of the factory, demanding the recognition of their union rights and their reinstatement.
- At Mitaş Endüstri in Ankara, a member of MESS, workers have been paid less than the rate agreed upon in the MESS Group Collective Bargaining Agreement. Workers downed their tools to protest the wage usurpation.
- At the Seydişehir Eti Aluminum plant in Konya, workers refused the miserable 56% raise and stopped working. The resistance continues in front of the factory.
- In Çanakkale, subcontracted workers at the Çan Plant of the Turkish Coal Enterprises refused poor wage increases and stopped working.
- The Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations between Birleşik Metal-İş and bosses of Erciyas Çelik Boru reached a stalemate. On 31 January, workers went on strike at the Düzce and Mersin factories. On 14 February, the strike ended with an agreement.
- DISK prepared a 5-point draft bill as a result of its protests against tax injustice. It held a press statement in front of the Parliament for the unanimous adoption of the bill.
- Upon the call of the Private Sector Teachers’ Union, teachers from various cities gathered in front of the Parliament in Ankara on January 29. The teachers demanded the reintroduction of the base salary regulation that was abolished in 2014.
- On 27 November, workers from Urfa Özak Tekstil started a resistance under the leadership of BİRTEK-SEN union to demand an end to repression and recognition of the right to choose trade union. On 23 January, they took an action in front of Özak Holding headquarters in Istanbul. In response, Zeytinburnu District Governorate imposed a 7-day ban on protests across the region. The workers wanted to move their resistance to another area, in front of the Özak Tekstil factory in the İkitelli Organized Industrial Zone. This time, the district governorate of that region imposed a ban on protests. Özak workers and BİRTEK-SEN union representatives, who wanted to set up their tents in front of the factory, were detained and sentenced to house arrest. The repression and bans against Özak Tekstil workers have once again exposed the government's hostility towards workers.
- At the hospitals of Ankara University Faculty of Medicine, 72 workers were dismissed just days before the New Year. Dismissed unfairly and without compensation, workers entered the New Year in resistance. On 7 February, the workers held a press statement to make their voices heard.
- At Roniteks, a textile factory in Bayrampaşa, Istanbul, workers downed their tools to demand better wages and social rights. The boss was obliged to meet the workers’ demands.
- On 7 February in Adana, subcontracted workers stopped working against the poor wages in Yaka Endüstri, which is operating under SASA Polyester and is building an additional facility to the factory.
- On 5 February, workers from Key Mensucat in Antep stopped working against low wages.
- In Antep, work stoppages are spreading across various factories against the bosses’ imposition of miserable wages. In addition to Ender Aluminum, Selçuk İplik and Milat Halı, workers at four other factories stopped working. The workers from Ender Aluminum and Selçuk İplik managed to get their demands met and returned to work. The resistance at Milat Halı ended with a partial victory.
- On 10 February, workers at the Burteks textile factory walked off the job over low pay raises. Workers on the night shift refused to go into the factingory. On the same day, workers at Zafer Tekstil and Bulut Tekstil factories in the Second Organized Industrial Zone also stopped working. At the same time, Kimpack ABY Plastic workers, who stopped working, obtained gains. Workers reached victory against the imposition of low wages, oppression and forced overtime. In Zone 4, Alka Polyester workers also refused the low raise and walked off the job.
- After they obtained gains, Kimpack ABY workers got organized under Petrol-İş Union. However, the boss rejected the workers’ right to unionize and fired many workers. The workers continue their struggle.
- As the wage increase for 2024 is yet to be announced, workers from Tuzla and Yalova shipyard exhausted their patience. Upon the call of the Limter-İş Union, workers marched in front of various shipyards in Yalova and Tuzla on 9 and 12 February. Despite police pressure, the workers marched with banners saying “We Want Decent Wages. If You Don’t Pay, We Won’t Work” and “Our Right to Wages Cannot Be Usurped”.
- At the Olimpia Otocam factory in Gebze, 14 workers were dismissed because of union activity. Organized under the Gebze branch of Kristal-İş Union, the workers protested in front of the factory together with union leaders on February 12. The workers protested the dismissal attack and union hostility.
- The workers from the Perfetti food factory in Istanbul/Esenyurt were organized under the Tekgıda-İş union. Then, the union obtained authorization. However, the boss of Perfetti fired a worker representative. On 15 February, Tekgıda-İş union responded to this attack with a press statement in front of the factory. Workers from UID-DER also supported the workers’ action.
- On 5 February, a worker from Patiswiss chocolate factory was fired for joining the Öz Gıda-İş union. The dismissed worker started resistance under the leadership of the union. On 16 February, UİD-DER paid solidarity visit to the picketing worker.
- On the anniversary of the February 6 earthquakes, victims were commemorated with events in the earthquake region and across the country. The commemorations started at 04.17, the time of the earthquake. Thousands of people expressed their pain and anger, chanting “No forgetting, no forgiveness”. They demanded that those responsible be held to account.
- On 13 February, at Anagold mining site in Erzincan, a landslide took place. According to authorities, 9 workers were trapped under landslide. A joint venture between Çalık Holding and Canada-based SSR Mining, the administration had long ignored the workers and experts who continuously warned that landslides could hit any moment. The pro-government company ordered to continue the production. Located 700 metres away from the River Euphrates, the mine lies on an active fault line. The dissident voices expressing concerns were suppressed. The courts protected the company. The anti-worker government, which considers its survival above everything, caused another great tragedy and suffering. Workers and labourers protested the disaster in many cities. UİD-DER also took part in the protest in Kadıköy/ Istanbul, organised by trade union confederations and professional organisations.
- In Izmir, the boss of Akar Tekstil carried out and armed attack against the leaders of DERİTEKS union who visited to address the problems of the workers. On 13 February, the attack was protested in Tuzla Organized Leather Industrial Zone and the next day in front of the Akar Textile factory in Izmir. Leather workers and trade unions participated in the protests and UID-DER also supported them.