13 November, 2018IndustriALL Global Union is horrified to hear that Brother Abdullah Karacan, general president of our Turkish affiliate DİSK/Lastik-İş (Rubber and Chemical Workers’ Union) was assassinated today, 13 November, while visiting union members at a Goodyear factory in the city of Adapazarı.
Regional president of Lastik-İş Mustafa Sipahi and shop steward Osman Bayraktar were also hit by the gunman. Bayraktar remains in critical condition after the attack.
“We are shocked to hear that Brother Karacan has been assassinated,” says Valter Sanches, IndustriALL general secretary. “Brother Karacan was a genuinely committed union leader. We expect a thorough investigation into this heinous crime.
“Our sincere condolences go to his familty, his union Lastik-İş, his confederation DISK, as well as the whole trade union movement in Turkey.”
A highly respected union leader, Karacan, who was a substitute member of IndustriALL's Executive Committee, managed to win a significant victory against precarious work by persuading multinational tyre companies to end outsourcing at their operations in Turkey.