14 December, 2010Birlesik Metal-Is celebrates bittersweet legal victory for Sinter Metal workers in Turkey after two years' struggle for reinstatement.
TURKEY: The Sinter Metal workers dismissed on December 22, 2008 won their reinstatement cases December 13, 2010, after two years of struggle.
The legal cases were launched by the Sinter Metal workers and their union Birlesik Metal-Is immediately after their dismissal in December 2008. The reinstatement cases for the Sinter Metal workers dismissed under the pretext of poor performance, those having worked less than six months and a number dismissed on the pretext of economic crises were examined by Turkish court on December 13, 2010 after numerous delays.
The hearing was, once again, not attended by employers' representatives. However, the court refrained from further delaying the process and declared that the reason behind the dismissals was the workers' trade union membership and that the workers have to be reinstated. Should the employer not accept their reinstatement, the workers are entitled to receive 12 months' wages and an additional 4 months' wages for the judgment process.
Another hearing will take place on December 15, 2010 for more Sinter Metal workers dismissed under the pretext of economic difficulties.
Birlesik Metal-Is, an IMF affiliate, reports that the Sinter Metal workers who came to watch the court and waited the decision were happy with the decision but all of them were also asking that: Is this justice? If justice came two years after, is it still justice?
"It's of course a bittersweet victory, because the workers and their families have suffered a lot since December 2008," said IMF General Secretary Jyrki Raina. "This case highlights the non-functioning court system in Turkey and the reality of "justice delayed is justice denied"," added Raina.
To celebrate this legal victory, Birlesik Metal-Is will march in front of the Sinter Metal company in the Dudullu Organized Industrial Zone on December 15 calling on the company to accept the reinstatements and to begin fair negotiations with the union.
View the details of the Sinter Metal workers' two year struggle here.