Labor unions seek talks with Erdoğan on Tekel dispute

Representatives of Turkey’s major labor unions, the Confederation of Revolutionary Workers’ Unions (DİSK), the Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions (KESK) and the Confederation of Turkish Real Trade Unions (Hak-İş) yesterday decided to meet with top authorities of the country for a solution.

Confederation of Turkish Labor Unions (Türk-İş) head Mustafa Kumlu reportedly requested an appointment with Prime Minister Erdoğan and Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali Şahin. Speaking to reporters yesterday in Parliament, Şahin, however, said he had yet to receive such a request. “But if a request for a meeting comes, I will consider it and meet with them,” he said.

After losing their jobs in the wake of the monopoly’s privatization, Tekel workers from across the country began a protest in Ankara on Dec. 15. The workers are demanding that the government transfer them to other public institutions. The government has in response offered workers the opportunity to switch to a temporary employment program under Article 4/C, which provides jobs for workers dismissed from privatized public institutions for 11 months.

The Tekel workers started a hunger strike on Jan. 19, supporting themselves with vitamin B supplements and sugar water. Following a decision by labor unions on Feb. 2 to hold a strike on Feb. 4 in support of the workers dismissed from Tekel, workers from various labor unions participated in demonstrations in the provinces of İstanbul, Ankara, İzmir, Edirne, Mersin, Batman, Denizli and Antalya last Thursday.

In the meantime, five more Tekel workers participating in the hunger strike were hospitalized on Sunday. While three of the workers who were taken to Numune Teaching and Research Hospital returned to Türk-İş headquarters and continued the strike on Monday, two are still being treated at the hospital. Another worker who was hospitalized on Monday ended his hunger strike upon his doctor’s advice. The Tekel workers were also expected to make a statement to the public in front of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security in Ankara.

Gov’t still stands firm

Deputy Prime Minister and State Minister Hayati Yazıcı also commented on the Tekel issue over the weekend, arguing that the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has a finger on the Tekel controversy. “Needs are endless and potentials are limited. We have to balance these endless needs and limited potentials. We have started working on it. But as we continued [our efforts] some provocateurs intervened. The devil interfered in the issue. Everyone in Turkey interfered, including the PKK, and created trouble.”

Speaking about the Tekel issue at his party’s group meeting in Parliament last Tuesday, Erdoğan said the government had done its best to make sure Tekel workers are not treated unjustly, underlining that the protests have “gone beyond their purpose.”

Celebrities pay ‘support visit’ to workers

A number of celebrities arrived at Türk-İş headquarters on Sunday, where the Tekel workers are holding their protest in support of the workers. Musicians Suavi, Onu Akın, Yavuz Bingöl, Edip Akbayram, Grup Gündoğarken and Mazlum Çimen were among the group in addition to model Tuğba Özay and poet Ataol Behramoğlu. The group, carrying cloves, was welcomed by workers on Sakarya Street. Presenting the cloves to the workers, they said they came to lend support to the workers.