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15 May, 2006
ICEM’s rubber and chemical workers’ affiliate in Turkey, Lastik-Īş, announced late in April that it would strike the four Turkish plants of three major tyre producers if the companies did not take a different track in negotiations. But that announcement was pre-empted by one of the companies, Goodyear Lastikleri AS, which locked out 1,300 workers at its two Turkish factories.
Lastik-Īş has been negotiating with Goodyear, Pirelli Lastikleri, and Brisa Bridgestone Sabanci since mid-December over a renewal agreement covering 3,500 workers. Demands by employers for concessions on health care provisions, lower rates of pay for new workers, reductions in paid holidays, and flexibility regarding the use of contract workers caused the union’s Executive Board to call strikes at the plants starting on 22 May.
In a statement issued by Lastik-Īş, the union said: “The main reason why the conflict has continued so far is not the demands of our union, but the attitudes of employers who insist on dismantling our gained rights.”
Goodyear Lastikleri AS, 74.6% owned of Goodyear Tire and Rubber of the US, sacked a total of 109 workers at its tyre plants in Izmit and Adapazari in November 2005, as part of a restructuring move. Brisa Bridgestone Sabanci, in which Bridgestone of Japan controls a 40% stake, employs 1,000 workers at a plant in Izmit, while Italian Pirelli employs another 1,100 workers at a facility, also in Izmit.