May Day in Turkey: Working Class is again out Filling the Streets

The working class in Turkey is again on the streets on May Day after 2 years of break. With the call of unions and democratic mass organizations, in tens of cities and towns up and down the country, workers, women and youth expressed their anger at capitalist exploitation, policies of impoverishment, joblessness, and the repressive and tyrannical regime. Hundreds of thousands of workers across the country attended the rallies which were marked by anger at the government.

Tens of thousands shouted out at Maltepe: Enough is enough with this order!

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In Istanbul, where the heart of the working class in Turkey beats, the venue for May Day rally was the Maltepe Square. Organized by workers’ unions and professionals’ unions such as DİSK, KESK, TTB and TMMOB, with the main slogan “Enough is Enough, We’ll Change it together,” the rally was participated by tens of thousands of workers and toilers. Featuring demands at the rally were: resumption of price hikes, increase in wages, end to work accidents, transfer of public sources pumped out to government circles to workers and toilers, end to pillage of nature, replacement of the government whichhas brought the country to the brink of abyss!

UID-DER: Enthusiasm, Hope, Determination in May Day Square

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UID-DER had the main slogans in the run-up to May Day: No to Joblessness, Poverty, Exploitation, and Imperialist Wars! Hail to the World Working Class! And it joined the May Day rally in Maltepe Square with its impressive column. At the gathering point, before the march, UID-DER carried out its own program. With its organized, vigorous, disciplined column, and determined and internationalist slogans bringing out burning questions and demands of workers, it caught attention. It became a tribune for every section of workers: workers from all kinds of industries, unionized/non-unionized, unemployed, women, youth, pensioners, workers who are denied timely retirement, migrant workers etc.

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To emphasize the international nature of the struggle of the working class, UID-DER contingent carried placards in Kurdish, Farsi, Arabic, English, Spanish, French and German.

The program started with greeting of the participants: “Welcome to the working class’ march of unity, welcome to hope, passion and brotherhood! May Day is the day of international unity, struggle and solidarity of the working class, happy May Day!”

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Against oppression, tyranny, plundering of labour and nature!

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A minute of silence was held for all class brothers/sisters we lost on previous May Days and other struggles in the fight for classless society waged by the working class: “Their struggle is ours. And our struggle will continue until exploitation ends, classes disappear, and the earth becomes the heaven for workers and peoples of the world!”

The trampling of economic, social and democratic rights of the working class was protested in speeches: “We say NO to one man regime and strangling of justice! We say NO to oppression and tyranny! We say NO to this order which puts security chains on sunflower oil and locks baby food in groceries! We say NO to hijacking of our future and exploitation! We say NO to bread lines, high cost of life, melting down of our wages, high utility bills! We say NO to joblessness, impoverishment policies, retirement in graveyard and miserable plight of pensioners! We say NO to plunder of nature, rentier economy, plunder, corruption!”

Enthusiasm of working women and youth

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The working class youth and working women were called to unite in the ranks of the working class and come to the fore in this struggle. Calls from UID-DER podium were met by enthusiastic slogans and applaud. The enthusiasm of woman workers and the youth was impressive. The children of UID-DER workers were also a special point of attention with their contingent and placards they carried wit their tiny hands, reflecting their demands. Passers-by applauded the children saying “this is the future of the working class.” UID-DER’s music band (UMUT) carried the enthusiasm to climax with their songs and marches.

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A tradition in the making: marching the way back

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UID-DER contingent left the square without compromising its discipline and enthusiasm. During the return, enthusiasm was kept high, befitting the powerfully burning May Day torch, slogans were shouted, marches were sung. To salute the memory of those who lost their lives on May Day 1977, the song Şişli Square was sung in unison. Workers in UID-DER column stated that they were proud to keep the 136-years-old torch of May Day high and that they were determined to fight. They also said they would not yield to repression and tyranny, and that they would mount the unity, solidarity and organized struggle of the working class.