Let us Strengthen Our Hope and Resilience, Let us Grow Our Struggle

A new year has begun. But in the hearts of working people, there are worries and gloom instead of the excitement and hope that the ‘new’ would bring. The only thing changing in our lives, apart from the calendar dates, is that we are feeling the consequences and effects of economic destruction more intensely than ever. Just as it is obvious to see what’s coming from a mile away, we all know that a much tougher year lies ahead. In the meantime, we all want to turn the tide and free ourselves from our troubles.  So, how is it that we all share similar feelings and similar demands, but we cannot unite for the same demands? How is it that we cannot come together and act together for the same cause? Many workers will give short answers to this question. Some will say this is how things are. Some will say that no one is willing to unite, no one dares to speak out against injustice, and therefore unity is impossible. Before analysing these answers, let’s refresh our memories.

Since 2018, the economy has been rolling downhill, and those in power keep stringing workers along, saying that getting it back on track very soon. In the last few years, we’ve heard countless empty promises! According to regime authorities, Turkey was supposed to rise in a short time and become a prosperous country. Workers were promised a significant share of the economic growth. “March would be better than February. April would be better than March…” Former Finance Minister Berat Albayrak said. “Let’s sleep and wake up in six months, we’ll see a completely different Turkey.” Previous Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati said. President Erdoğan declared 2024 as “the year of the retirees”. The anti-inflation programme was supposed to work in a short time, eliminating the cost of living crisis, and freeing us from austerity... But these empty promises can no longer hide the fact that most workers, labourers and retirees, in other words, the vast majority of the country's population, are being pushed deeper into poverty. The impact of these empty promises is fading. And fewer people are falling for them. Beneath the surface, a great deal of anger and discontent continues to simmer.

Those who tried to deceive us with lies until yesterday have now changed their tune. They were reckless enough to say, “We’ll take our ‘calculated steps’, at all costs!” to those who reacted against setting the minimum wage at 22 thousand liras. True to their word, they continued to take their ‘calculated steps’ by increasing the wages of public workers, and the pensions at rates far below the inflation rate. The government, MESS (Turkish Metal Employers’ Union), and employers tried to force workers, who refused to bow to their impositions and rejected the strike ban, to accept meagre raises by threatening them with dismissals. In cases like Polonez, they deployed police armed with tear gas, shields and batons to suppress workers fighting for their rights.       

It is no secret that those who take their ‘calculated steps’ against workers are incredibly generous when it comes to the capitalist class. The anti-worker regime in power, while dragging us into misery, gives the capitalist class free rein. The capitalist class and their government’s representatives enjoy unlimited exploitation, plunder, and profiteering. They are now planning to change the Labour Law in their favour, aiming to abolish job security, severance pay, and public pension system. Essentially, they are having free rein, acting unchecked as if no one can stand in their way. Yet, despite everything going so well for them, they never miss an opportunity to complain about the economic crisis, rising labour costs, out-of-control exchange rates and growing international competition. They make us pay for the economic destruction and make our lives unbearable. At the same time, they expect us to forget our own struggles, accept exploitation and keep rowing like galley slaves to keep their ship afloat.

Returning to our initial topic: Who benefits from thinking that workers cannot unite in the face of such severe attacks from the government and the capitalist class? Is this really the right way of thinking? Isn’t the devastation before us clear proof that workers have no way out but to unite? Indeed, isn’t the increasing number of unionisation efforts, strikes and pickets across all sectors and regions of Turkey proof that workers are becoming more aware of this reality?

The leaders of the working class say that the realm of freedom begins with the understanding of the realm of necessity. To understand necessity means to take action to accomplish it, to act on it, and to overcome it. As workers, we must resist the attacks of capital and the government. No matter how difficult it is, we must overcome disunity, build our solidarity, act together and expand our struggle. The solution to all our problems that are worsening and making our lives harder, lies within us, in our hands, in our unity. Only unity will give us the power to fight back against the attacks, traps and deceptions of the capitalist class. The first step is to realise that we must stop thinking as individual workers and unite as a working class. Each of us must take responsibility without fearing difficulties and obstacles, without waiting for others, and without giving in to despair. We must reflect on how we can grow from one to many, expanding our ranks. It involves striving to see events, facts and the world through the eyes of the working class, rejecting ideas that serve the interests of the capitalist class. To achieve this, it is essential to heed the calls of UID-DER, the working class’s struggle organisation.

Those who understand their responsibilities are better able to see where to turn and where to draw the strength to fulfil them. Of course, in our workplaces and communities, there are fellow workers who turn a blind eye to the problems we face, who fall into traps and focus only on saving themselves. Some are still held back by fear, unwilling to unite, lacking the courage to speak out against injustice, and convinced that unity is impossible. Yet, despite all the challenges, there are also workers who find a way to unite, take up the struggle, stand firm against oppression, and ultimately defeat the bosses. Every issue of Workers’ Solidarity highlights countless workers’ struggles from Turkey and around the world, and this is the proof of their resilience. The historical and ongoing struggles of the world working class against capitalist exploitation, imperialist wars, corruption and oppression, along with the uprisings and glorious revolutions which frighten the capitalist class are further proof of this. Today, workers are proving this by organising protests and strikes: in Serbia to demand accountability for the train station disaster, in South Korea to resist corruption and oppression, in the UK to stop the genocide in Gaza, in Germany to fight layoffs, and in Turkey to protests against the impoverishment policies. In fact, even capitalist organisations had to say that 2025 would be the year of working-class struggle.

The just voice of the working class cannot be silenced, and its struggle cannot be stopped. What matters is choosing to stand on the right side and to join our class struggle against capitalism which is driving humanity and nature toward destruction, and to work tirelessly for the success of this cause. In 2025, let us strengthen our hope and resilience, and together, let us grow our solidarity, unity and struggle.