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14 August, 2005ICEM News release No. 39/2003
T he government of Turkey's decree banning a strike in the nation's glass industry by ICEM affiliate Kristal-Is has drawn criticism from the 20-million-member ICEM.
For the second time in two years, Turkey has used Article 33 of its Law on Collective Agreements, Strikes and Lockouts to prohibit Kristal-Is from striking. Both times the Turkish government has cited a possible glass strike as a threat to national security.
In a letter dated 19 December to Turkey Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs called into question how such a strike could be construed a national security threat. "I totally reject that a strike in the glass sector might be considered a threat to national security and would welcome your urgent reply."
Higgs further wrote: "Kristal-Is legitimately represents some 5,000 glass workers at 13 of 15 factories in Turkey. Over the past 18 months, the Turkish Glass Employers' Association along with the Sisecam Group and its subsidiary Pasabahce have waged a systematic campaign to destroy the collective bargaining status of Kristal-Is."
The glass industry and Pasabahce challenged the union's right to representation under the 10% rule of Turkey's labour code, meaning a union must have at least 10% membership in a given sector to have collective bargaining rights. Both a labour court and a higher court-on appeal in May 2003-ruled that Kristal-Is is over that threshold, but Sisecam and Pasabahce have continued to subvert the union. In October, after 700 workers and subcontractors at a relatively new Pasabahce glass plant in the city of Eskisehir voted for representation by Kristal-Is, the company responded by firing 350 union activists.
Kristal-Is President Musatafa Bagceci is also critical of the Turkish government's decision to ban a strike. "To claim that a strike in the glass industry threatens national security is absurd and unbelievable. There is no connection between a glass strike and the country's national security. Once again, the Turkish government has violated the right to strike. The hidden side of the decree is the employers' demands."
Kristal-Is has vowed to appeal the government's decree to Turkey's Supreme Court.
For the second time in two years, Turkey has used Article 33 of its Law on Collective Agreements, Strikes and Lockouts to prohibit Kristal-Is from striking. Both times the Turkish government has cited a possible glass strike as a threat to national security.
In a letter dated 19 December to Turkey Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs called into question how such a strike could be construed a national security threat. "I totally reject that a strike in the glass sector might be considered a threat to national security and would welcome your urgent reply."
Higgs further wrote: "Kristal-Is legitimately represents some 5,000 glass workers at 13 of 15 factories in Turkey. Over the past 18 months, the Turkish Glass Employers' Association along with the Sisecam Group and its subsidiary Pasabahce have waged a systematic campaign to destroy the collective bargaining status of Kristal-Is."
The glass industry and Pasabahce challenged the union's right to representation under the 10% rule of Turkey's labour code, meaning a union must have at least 10% membership in a given sector to have collective bargaining rights. Both a labour court and a higher court-on appeal in May 2003-ruled that Kristal-Is is over that threshold, but Sisecam and Pasabahce have continued to subvert the union. In October, after 700 workers and subcontractors at a relatively new Pasabahce glass plant in the city of Eskisehir voted for representation by Kristal-Is, the company responded by firing 350 union activists.
Kristal-Is President Musatafa Bagceci is also critical of the Turkish government's decision to ban a strike. "To claim that a strike in the glass industry threatens national security is absurd and unbelievable. There is no connection between a glass strike and the country's national security. Once again, the Turkish government has violated the right to strike. The hidden side of the decree is the employers' demands."
Kristal-Is has vowed to appeal the government's decree to Turkey's Supreme Court.