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Labour Movement in Turkey (15 October - 15 November 2023)
The Voice Rising from the Workers’ Struggles: “We will unite and win!”
16.11.2023
- Organized under Genel-İş union, workers from IZENERJİ, one of the companies of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, stopped work on 17 and 19 October to reclaim their unpaid bonuses based on the collective agreement.
- On 20 October, 11 labour organizations gathered in front of the Ministry of Health and protested the government's failure to take measures against violence against healthcare workers.
- At 4 different construction sites, including Istanbul Finance Center, Bayraklı City Hospital, Emlak Konut and Pendikspor Facilities, workers took actions to reclaim their unpaid wages. They made gains.
- In Tunceli, FEDAŞ workers from DİSK/Enerji-Sen union had been fighting for a pay raise and better working conditions. They won on the 73rd day. Their demands will be met and the dismissed workers will be reinstated.
- At Ataşehir Municipality, 9 workers had been forcefully retired. They have been picketing to be reinstated since 2 October.
- Workers of Agrobay Seracılık, Trendyol, Corning Optik and Sputnik Turkey keep on striking.
- In early October, university students protested lunchroom price hikes that reached 200%. Some of them were taken into custody. The final straw came on 25 October, when 22-year-old Zeren Ertaş died because of a faulty elevator in a state dormitory in Aydın. Thousands of students came out onto the streets in protest. Elevator accidents continue to occur in one dormitory after another. Students want those responsible to be held accountable. They also demand better food, safety and transportation.
- Trade unions, labour organizations and workers continue to protest Israel’s massacre of the Palestinian people.
- On 22 October, the Istanbul Trade Union Branches Platform protested the government's plans to abolish severance pay, tax injustice and the war in Palestine.
- On 19 October, DİSK, KESK, TMMOB, TTB and TDB came out to make a press statement in Sakarya Square with the banner “Resisting Palestine will win, the Middle East will change with peace, not with war”. Workers from UID-DER also participated in the protest.
- On 2 November, subcontracted workers of Elit Engineering took action to reclaim their unpaid wages at Emlak Konut construction site in Istanbul.
- At the Chamber of Environmental Engineers, TMMOB affiliate, workers demanded an additional protocol to the collective agreement and an increase in their wages. Due to the negative response from the chamber, they stopped work on 30-31 October.
- On 30 October, at the Emlak Konut construction site of Kuzu Group in Fikirtepe/Istanbul, subcontracted workers of IMK Construction walked off the job to protest underpaid wages.
- DİSK organised a rally in İzmir Konak Square on 5 October and another one in İstanbul Kartal square on October 21, demanding “Justice in Income, Justice in Taxation” and showing its solidarity with the Palestinian people. UID-DER participated in the rallies with the banner “No to Imperialist Wars! Solidarity with the Palestinian People!”
- On 1 November, teachers of Istanbul Technical University (İTÜ) Development Foundation Schools took action at Maslak and Beylerbeyi campuses to demand a pay raise. On 13 October, the teachers had made a protest in İTÜ Ayazağa Campus to announce their demands and to protest the foundation management for ignoring their demands.
- On 4 November, Kocaeli Worker Health and Safety Assembly held a press statement in Izmit and announced that 32,180 workers have been killed in occupational accidents during the AKP’s rule.
- The bosses of the Asır Plast factory in Istanbul fled abroad without paying the wages of the workers. On November 11, workers protested in front of the factory to get their wages and compensation.
- In the metal industry, trade unions and MESS (Turkish Employers’ Association of Metal Industries) continue negotiations for the 2023-2025 Collective Agreement. Organised under DİSK/Birleşik Metal-İş union, workers from MESS-affiliated workplaces are intensifying the struggle against the imposition of low hikes.
- On 10 November, an Afghan worker, Wazir Mohammad Nourtani, was murdered by the mine owners in an unlicensed mine in Zonguldak. Afterwards, it was revealed that he was burnt and thrown into a forest area in order to obfuscate the evidence. Under the title “Let’s not remain silent to this atrocity”, the Migrant Trade Union Initiative organised simultaneous protests in Istanbul and Ankara to react to the murder on November 13.
- The march of the DİSK leadership to Ankara demanding “Justice in Income, Justice in Taxation” started on 13 November from Kadıköy. DİSK President Arzu Çerkezoğlu said that they marched against the cost of living and the impoverishment of the working class.