Civil servants' ‘warning strike' cripples public services

In a one-day strike organized by Turkish Public Workers' Labor Union (Kamu-Sen) and the Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions (KESK), civil servants took to the streets to protest for the right for collective bargaining and the right to strike, as well as to protest the 2.5 percent increase in civil servants' wages, a raise seen as too low by union leaders. The strike, which is illegal according to the Constitution, was most severely felt in transportation and the health sectors. Conductors and health workers left their posts for a day, leaving many trains grounded and forcing hospitals to only accept patients in emergency situations.

Kamu-Sen President Bircan Akyıldız, speaking at several places across Ankara, noted that this strike was not being formed “for fun” and that the strike was organized to obtain “political power.” Highlighting that this protest would bring justice and more rights to public workers, Akyıldız stated that “those who think that civil servants sit idle and aren't productive will see today our importance.”

“Threats by authorities and other unions will not distract us from our path. These threats are trying to silence us and tell us that these problems will be solved at the bargaining table. We’ve waited for the administration for seven years to sit with us at that table and told them to uphold their promises… All of the civil servants waiting for a serious answer from the powers that be now realize that there won’t be one, and this is why we are here today,” stated Akyıldız.

Turkish Transportation Union President Nazmi Güzel, who spoke to strikers at the Turkish State Railways (TCDD) 2nd General Directorate, stated that all trains would stop at midnight on Tuesday night, noting that trains would not be running throughout Wednesday. Except for four members of the union who were taken in for questioning, Güzel noted that the strikes had been mostly trouble-free.

Civil servant protestors attacked police with stones and placards in Ankara’s Kızılay district during a strike organized by Kamu-Sen and KESK. Police retaliated with pepper spray.

Güzel noted that besides the strikes by railway workers, workers in ports had also stopped loading and unloading ships and that there weren’t enough workers at runways to continue operations. “We warned 200 airlines about the strike, and also warned passengers. There aren’t enough workers at runways to accept landing planes. This is incredibly risky if administrators decide to let planes land, and we will not accept any responsibility if anything happens,” he said. Speaking on railway workers, Güzel noted that “there aren’t enough conductors to run trains, and if they are run, then we will not be responsible for any accidents that may come about from this risky maneuver.”

Train passengers left stranded

In a strike starting on Tuesday at midnight, railroad workers refused to work, leaving thousands of passengers stranded with little alternatives. Train stations in Ankara, İstanbul, Gaziantep, Sakarya, Eskişehir and other provinces in Anatolia were frozen as trains waited at the stations, with conductors refusing to run trains. Some passengers were forced to use inner-city buses to travel within the cities, and others used coach busses after waiting for hours in stations without any word from the administration about when trains would start moving again.

KESK President Sami Eren, speaking to union members and stranded passengers at the Haydarpaşa train station in İstanbul, stated that “we didn’t want to organize this strike during a busier day such as Eid al-Adha. We hope people can show some understanding about our fight. We are doing this to provide you with better service.”

Passengers, on the other hand, did not react warmly to this strike, with many verbal and physical arguments between travelers and union members occurring at train stations where the strikes were in place. In the Arifiye train station in Sakarya province passengers were forced to wait more than six-and-a-half hours for a train to move after the strike started on Tuesday at midnight. As of this writing, three trains are still waiting at the Arifiye station. One woman lashed out at one of the striking workers and yelled, “If you aren’t brave enough to deal with the consequences and give us a straight answer about what will happen, then why are you striking?”