Labour Movement in Turkey (15 November - 15 December 2023)

Despite all the pressure, workers across the country are coming together, organising and raising their voices against low wages, de-unionisation and usurpation of their rights.

• In the metal sector, group collective bargaining negotiations between trade unions and bosses’ union MESS reached a stalemate. Following the 5th session, a statement of disagreement was signed. Since the beginning of the negotiations, metal workers have been staging warning actions against the MESS’s hostility towards workers. They continue their protests with various actions.
• At Burda Bebek Factory in Sakarya, 7 women workers were fired because they joined Petrol-İş union. On 20 November, they started picketing by setting up a tent in front of the factory.
• On 21 November, İzmir Çiğli Municipality workers, organised under İzmir Branch 8 of the Genel-İş union, walked out to reclaim their unpaid wages. The municipality management paid the wages of the workers after the reactions caused by the uncollected garbage. The workers refused to go to work until the wages of other workers in the administrative departments were paid.
• On 21 November, shipyard workers at the subcontractors of Gürdesan Gemi Makinaları in Yalova stopped work for months of unpaid wages and protested in front of the company’s factory in Dilovası. At the construction site of Dokuz Eylül University Occupational and Environmental Diseases Hospital in Aliağa/Izmir, subcontracted workers also walked out to reclaim months of unpaid wages.
• The workers of the Chamber of Architects affiliated to TMMOB (The Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects) protested the management of the chamber who objected to the authorisation of the union in order to disrupt the CBA process. On 23 November, workers made a press statement in front of the Ankara Branch of the Chamber of Architects.
• On 27 November, workers from Urfa Özak Tekstil, who resigned from Öz İplik-İş Union and organised under BİRTEK-SEN stopped production and started picketing against the pressure of the boss, dismissal attacks and recruitment of new workers. The governorate banned the workers' protests. The military forces attacked the workers. Union leaders were taken into custody, and the religious official closed the mosque to remove the workers from the mosque courtyard. The resisting workers face obstructions and attacks by the police and military forces every day. The leaders and worker representatives of BİRTEK-SEN are being taken into custody. However, despite all the pressures, threats, and intimidating policies, Özak workers defend their struggle and keep resisting. They determinedly fight against the denial of their right to choose their trade union.
• On 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, women gathered in squares in many cities, organised marches and made their voices heard from factories and picket lines.
• In these actions, women chanted, “no to war, violence, poverty and exploitation!”
• Corning Optik workers from Lastik-İş union union have been on strike for more than 150 days. Sputnik Turkey workers from TGS have been striking for more than 100 days. Both strikes continue with determination.
• Having been fired because of joining Tarım-Sen union, Agrobay Seracılık workers keep struggling. On 27 November, they went up on the roof of a building in  Bergama City Square and hung a banner reading “Agrobay Give Us Our Rights!”
• On 29 November, upon call of the Confederation of Palestinian Trade Unions, workers staged solidarity actions in Turkey as in many countries around the world. Workers from DİSK/Genel-İş, KESK/Tüm Bel-Sen and BES staged demonstrations in Izmir. The Platform for End Occupation in Palestine made press statements in Izmir Alsancak Port and in front of the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul.
• On 2 December, KESK staged rallies in Istanbul and Diyarbakır under the slogan “We want people’s budget in favour of Labour and the Democracy”.
• On 8 December, DİSK announced its struggle agenda with the demand for “Justice in Income, Justice in Taxation, and Decent Wages”. DİSK decided to organise mass meetings in 11 cities in December. Protests have been staged in Ankara on 8 December, in Edirne on 11 December, in Kırşehir on 12 December, in Mersin on 13 December, in Antalya on 14 December, and in Izmir on 15 December. DİSK will take to the streets another 5 cities by the end of December.
• On 9 December, to reclaim their rights teachers from Doğa College protested low wages, suppression of the union rights and mobbing in front of the company’s central office in Ataşehir.
• On 10 December, Internship and Apprenticeship Insurance Victims held a Great Istanbul Meeting and reacted to the usurpation of their pension rights.
• Upon the call of All Pensioners’ Union, Solidarity Union of Pensioners and DİSK/Emekli-Sen, pensioners staged “Great Pensioners’ Rally” in Ankara Anıt Park on 10 December. Pensioners from all over Turkey raised their voices against low pensions and high cost of living. They demanded the recognition of their trade union rights. Workers from UİD-DER participated in the rally with the banner “Let’s Stand Together Against High Retirement Age, Low Pensions, and the Union Busting”.