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International labor unions stand behind Tekel workers
Confederation of Turkish Labor Unions (Türk-İş) President Mustafa Kumlu had contacted the ITUC and the ETUC, seeking their help in the struggle of the Tekel workers, who have been protesting in the Turkish capital for the past two months.
The ITUC represents 175 million workers around the world registered in 311 trade unions in 155 countries. The ETUC includes 82 unions and 12 confederations from 36 countries in Europe.
ITUC member unions will send letters to Turkish politicians asking them to agree to the demands of the Tekel workers. In the letters, ITUC member unions will express their solidarity with the dismissed Tekel workers and call on the Turkish government to ease its adamant stance against the demands of the workers.
The ETUC responded to Kumlu’s letter by issuing a bulletin announcing its support for the Tekel workers. The ETUC reiterated the workers’ demand to be employed in public enterprises and retain their current benefits, appealing to the government to approve this request.
The ETUC will also send a letter to the Turkish Embassy in Brussels, voicing its support for the Tekel workers.
Fourth warning from governor
Meanwhile, the Ankara Governor’s Office has sent a new statement demanding the removal the tents illegally set up for the Tekel workers by Türk-İş and the Union of Tobacco, Alcoholic Beverage, Food and Related Industry Workers (TekGıda-İş).
The statement also included a recent report by the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality’s Fire Department, which points to the fire risk posed by insufficient safety measures in the tent area and the difficulty of moving through the area to intervene in the event of a fire. If the demonstrators insist on turning a deaf ear to these warnings, they will bear all responsibility for any casualties and damage resulting from a possible fire, the statement underlined.
The Ankara Governor’s Office has sent three similar notifications to the demonstrators for different reasons.
Prime minister rebukes unions over 4/C
In the meantime, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan harshly criticized Türk-İş’s application to the Council of State seeking the abolishment of Article 4/C of the Civil Servants Law No. 657, which provides workers previously employed in state-owned enterprises 11 months of temporary employment in the public sector if dismissed due to privatization. Erdoğan said the article was in fact instituted in accordance with the demands of the same union that now wants its cancellation. “Are we a town-level administration?” he asked, accusing the union of disgracing itself and behaving shamefully.
Speaking to the press before his departure for Qatar on Saturday, Erdoğan said: “We established this system after hearing their demands. When they wake up in the morning, they forget what they did the previous evening.”
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