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20 August, 2012Members of IndustriALL Global Union affiliate Birlesik Metal-Is at a Fontana Pietro metal plant are fighting for union recognition after union leaders were fired on 17 August.
As part of a recruitment drive Birlesik Metal-Is has organized the majority of the 230 workers at the plant of Italian-based company Fontana Pietro, which produces metal sheets for the auto industry, located in Tuzla, Istanbul.
Soon after the union applied to the Ministry of Labour on 9 August for recognition, the company management became aware of the drive and on 17 August dismissed four union members who led the organizing.
The systematic harassment campaign started by Fontana Pietro, including threats and acts of intimidation against workers joining the union, is a violation of workers’ basic rights enshrined in the Turkish Constitution and international labour conventions to which Turkey is a signatory. IndustriALL Global Union has sent a protest letter (link to the letter) to the company management in Turkey urging the company to immediately reinstate the dismissed union members, and enter into dialogue with Birleşik Metal-İş.
IndustriALL’s Italian affiliates have also taken initiative to raise the conflict with the headquarters of the company.
The Fontana Pietro Group, a supplier to Ferrari, is composed of three main divisions: engineering; construction of dies; and stamping and assembly of steel and aluminium elements for car bodies production. The group has two factories in Italy, a production plant in Istanbul, and is building another productive site in Romania. The company currently employs over 500 people.