Tekgida-Is TEKEL Workers' Strugle, Turkey 2010 - TEKEL DİRENİŞİ
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Beschreibung
In January 2003, then Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Abdullatif Sener announced plans to privatise tobacco company Tekel, as part of a $16bn loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), stating, "These are privatisations which have been planned for years and should have been taken care of a long time ago." He promised that the jobs of workers affected by the privatisation would be safeguarded.
In December 2009, following the privatisation, the government announced that 12 Tekel factories would close with the 10,000 workers redeployed in other public sector jobs on 11-month temporary contracts (4/C status) with pay-cuts up to 40% and reduced employment rights. This sparked industrial action, which began on 15 December and was lead by IUF affiliated union of food workers Tek Gida Is - www.tekgida.org.tr .
More than 12,000 workers from across the country set up camp in a central park in Ankara where they were forced off with teargas and pepper spray fired by riot police. They subsequently reestablished their camp in front of the head office of Turkey's main trade union organisation, Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (Türk-İş). The protestors have engaged in public demonstrations outside the headquarters of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and several protestors have been admitted to hospital after refusing food and water.
Media images of the protests have provoked angry rows in the Turkish parliament and the situation has inflicted political damage on a government heavily reliant on conservative working-class support but Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the government would not "dole out money to workers for not producing anything" and challenged the protestors, who he claims are being influenced by "ideological groups and extremists" who had turned it into an "anti-government campaign," to start their own businesses and ordered Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek and Labour Minister Hayati Yazıcı to find a formula to resolve the dispute.
On 4 February 2010 tens of thousands of Turkish workers took part in a one day general strike organised by Türk-İş in support of the protest. Public services including transport were disrupted across the country and the largest demonstrations were reported in Ankara (20,000 demonstrators) and Izmir (15,000 demonstrators).
In December 2009, following the privatisation, the government announced that 12 Tekel factories would close with the 10,000 workers redeployed in other public sector jobs on 11-month temporary contracts (4/C status) with pay-cuts up to 40% and reduced employment rights. This sparked industrial action, which began on 15 December and was lead by IUF affiliated union of food workers Tek Gida Is - www.tekgida.org.tr .
More than 12,000 workers from across the country set up camp in a central park in Ankara where they were forced off with teargas and pepper spray fired by riot police. They subsequently reestablished their camp in front of the head office of Turkey's main trade union organisation, Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (Türk-İş). The protestors have engaged in public demonstrations outside the headquarters of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and several protestors have been admitted to hospital after refusing food and water.
Media images of the protests have provoked angry rows in the Turkish parliament and the situation has inflicted political damage on a government heavily reliant on conservative working-class support but Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the government would not "dole out money to workers for not producing anything" and challenged the protestors, who he claims are being influenced by "ideological groups and extremists" who had turned it into an "anti-government campaign," to start their own businesses and ordered Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek and Labour Minister Hayati Yazıcı to find a formula to resolve the dispute.
On 4 February 2010 tens of thousands of Turkish workers took part in a one day general strike organised by Türk-İş in support of the protest. Public services including transport were disrupted across the country and the largest demonstrations were reported in Ankara (20,000 demonstrators) and Izmir (15,000 demonstrators).