17 December, 2024Strike actions by Turkish metalworkers at major companies, including GE Grid Solutions, Hitachi Electric, Schneider Electric and Arıtaş, have been brought to a halt following a Presidential decree banning the strikes on the grounds of national security. IndustriALL Global Union and industriAll Europe condemn the ban which affects ten factories in four companies and urge the employers to not honour htis attack on democracy and workers' fundamental rights.
The industrial action, organized by the Birlesik Metal-Is (United Metalworkers’ Union), began on 4 December at Hitachi's Kartal, Tuzla, Dilovasi, and Dudullu plants. On 13 December, the strike expanded to GE Grid Solutions, Hitachi Electric, Schneider Electric and Arıtaş factories. Approximately 2,000 workers, all members of Birlesik Metal-Is, participated to demand wage increases aligned with Turkey’s soaring inflation.
Negotiations with employers' federation MESS had broken down after management offered a 40 per cent wage increase—a proposal deemed insufficient, as it would leave workers earning below the poverty line. The union, in contrast, demanded a 125 per cent increase to offset real wage losses and secure a living wage for its members.
On 13 December, the Turkish government issued a decree postponing the strikes for 60 days, citing national security concerns. Under Turkish legislation, once a strike is postponed, workers are effectively prevented from resuming their action, as disputes must then proceed to compulsory arbitration.
The union strongly disputes the legitimacy of the government’s justification. The affected workplaces produce transformers exclusively for export, posing no discernible risk to domestic security. “Transformer manufacturing factories cannot violate national security,” a union representative stated.
According to the union, local management has sent messages to the striking workers that they must return back the work. It is also reported that police forces were invited around the workplaces to scare workers off from industrial action, as well as reports that striking workers are receiving threats of retaliation with dismissals if they don’t go back to work.
Atle Høie and Judith Kirton-Darling, general secretaries of IndustriALL Global and industriAll Europe, call on employers to respect workers' rights and refrain from enforcing the ban.
“It is evident that legislation is being misused to undermine the right to strike in Türkiye,”
the letter states, highlighting previous rulings by the Turkish Constitutional Court and the International Labour Organization (ILO) affirming the right to strike as a fundamental labour right.
“This is totally unacceptable. Workers deserve fair and decent wages, and the right to collective bargaining must be upheld. We stand with Turkish workers and their unions in this fight.”
Photos: Birleşik Metal İşçileri Sendikası