After Tekel’s privatization, the workers were employed according to Article 4/C of Law No. 657, which aims to prevent the victimization of workers; however, the law makes it possible to employ the workers temporarily and eliminates severance pay if the workers are laid off. The workers got off their buses in front of the Armada Mall and began to walk toward the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) headquarters, proceeding until a police barricade on Yaşam Street near the AK Party headquarters.The workers carried placards reading “Don’t play with our future,” “We are workers, we are right, we will win” and “This fire will burn you, too.”
Members of unions affiliated with the Confederation of Turkish Labor Unions (Türk-İş) and the Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions (KESK) also supported the protest. In the morning, gendarmes stopped buses arriving from Malatya, Hatay and Adıyaman on the Ankara-Konya highway, buses from Manisa, İzmir and Aydın on the Ankara-Eskişehir highway and buses from Diyarbakır and Malatya on the Ankara-Samsun highway. Following an ID and vehicle check, the buses were allowed to proceed to Ankara.
Police set up security barricades early in the morning around the AK Party headquarters. About 2,000 police officers as well as a large number of vehicles, including police panzers, were stationed near the AK Party headquarters. The area was closed to traffic. Individuals working in the area were able to go to work after a police check. The Ankara Governor’s Office did not approve the protest. Noting that Türk-İş had turned to a number of state authorities to suggest alternative solutions, Türk-İş Secretary-General Mustafa Türkel said the authorities did not fulfill their promises despite saying they would work toward a solution.
“The 12,000 Tekel workers who turned out will not leave until a solution is found. Tekel workers are demanding their legal rights through this protest. Politicians have decided to close the Tekel workers’ workplace. In light of this, what is right and legal is to transfer these workers to other institutions,” he explained.
