3 July, 2009IMF and <a href="http://www.emf-fem.org/Press/Labour-related-news/Affiliates-increase-pressure-on-Sinter-Metal">EMF</a> seek an end to the violation of workers' rights at Sinter Metal in Turkey as affiliates reach out to first tier companies that use Sinter Metal components.
TURKEY: Metalworker unions in Germany, Italy and the U.S. have written to four major auto companies that use components supplied by Sinter Metal, via the auto parts supplier Gertag, urging them to demand an end to the violation of workers' rights at the plant in the Dudullu Organized Industrial Zone in Turkey.
In December 2008, Sinter Metal used false pretexts to fire 38 workers involved with trade union activity. Days later, the employer refused to allow the remaining workers to enter the plant, firing 312 of them, most of whom the company had learned were trade union members.
The Labour Ministry in Turkey issued a report on January 12, 2009 upholding the union's assertion that the reason for the dismissal of the 350 workers was not the economic crisis as the employer attempted to claim, but rather their trade union membership.
Despite repeated requests from the IMF and the EMF, the company has not considered the workers' demands, reinstated the dismissed workers or commenced negotiating with the union, Birlesik Metal Is. As Sinter Metal ships parts to Gertag, which in turn supplies BMW, Daimler, Ford and Fiat, IMF and EMF affiliates in Germany, Italy and the U.S. are reaching out to the first tier manufacturers urging them to seek an end to the violations at Sinter Metal in Turkey.
BMW and Daimler have both signed International Framework Agreements with the IMF, which state that the companies expect suppliers to recognise workers' rights as a criteria for lasting business relationships.