40 miners are neither paid their wages, nor dismissed from their jobs

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"We cannot get our wages for 13 months. As we cannot get our rights for six months, we do not go to work. Realizing that waiting would not solve anything, we staged a resistance at the mine.

"It is not the first incident. We filed a criminal complaint, but to no avail. I am married, I have two kids. When my child was born, I went to the boss, begging him, but he did not give me even a penny. I am now at my limits. I no longer have the face to go to shopkeepers. When an unknown number calls me, I am afraid to pick up the phone."

Abdullah Büber (31) is only one of the 40 workers who has been resisting at the Cenne Lignite Mine since yesterday (August 31). Owned by Has Şekerler mining company, the mine in Ermenek, Karaman has been closed since February. Miners are now protesting because neither their wages nor compensations have been paid. Some of them cannot get their severance pay even though they worked there for 12 years.

To make matters worse, it is not their first resistance. In fall 2019, they protested for the first time. But this protest ended after the employer said that workers would be paid. However, they have not been paid as promised. On the contrary, some of them have been dismissed since then and the unlicensed mine has been closed in the end.

Talking about what they have been going through in a shaking voice, Büber says that they have no more strength to stand. All they want is that the employer pays their wages and compensations:

'We could not get short-time work allowance'

"We started a resistance in October 2019 because our wages were not paid. While we had not been paid for four months, only our two-month salaries were paid. We would work for 6 hours, 15 minutes, as stipulated by the law. The boss said these working hours were not enough to afford our wages, forced us to work for eight hours. We did not want to lose our job, we accepted it and started working again.

"Then, the same thing happened. We wanted our wages as we were not paid for two months. This time, in December, the boss said that he could not pay our wages. We halted work. 80 people used to work here. Our friends went on a strike. The wages of those who started the strike were paid and they were dismissed. The mine was closed in February.

"The remaining 40 people were neither paid their wages, nor were they dismissed. As we were not dismissed, we could not get unemployment payment. That period was constantly registered as an unpaid leave in our insurance. We could not even benefit from short-time working allowance. At last, we started resisting again as a last resort. All we want is our rights."

'When someone calls, I wonder if it is a creditor'

Indicating that they live in a rural area, Büber says though most workers live in their own houses, there are also people who have to pay rent:

"We have managed to make ends meet so far thanks to the support of our families. I am married, I have two children. One of them is only six months old. Sometimes, I could not afford baby food and diapers for my child.

"When my baby was born, I went to the boss, begging him. He did not give a single penny even then. The milk of my wife did not suffice to feed the child. We fed the child with baby food. I struggled to find 200 lira every week to buy baby food. But I am now at my limits. I no longer have the face to go to shopkeepers. When an unknown number calls, I wonder who that is, whether it is someone I am indebted.

"I wrote to the Presidency Communication System (CİMER) several times, I wrote what we went through. But they did not help us in any way at all. Even though I insistently say that I want my salary that I have deserved with my elbow grease, they constantly refer to the 1,000 lira that they give as support. Four wages of mine have not been paid. There are some with 10 or 11 unpaid wages. There are people who worked there for years, but could not get their severance pay. All we want is our rights."

'I could not pay my bills for 3 months'

Another worker is Mustafa Ozan. He is 34 years old. He has two children in school age. He adds he cannot get his salary since August 2019:

"We have not been working since February. My salary has not been paid since August 2019. My seven-month salary has not been paid, just as my compensation for 11-12 years has not been paid, either.

"I am trying to make ends meet by sometimes working as a farmer, sometimes by doing daily jobs. Everyone here is in the same situation. We are trying to earn money by doing petty jobs. We live in a village, we make ends meet somehow, but we don't have any money. I pay rent for the house, I could not pay my electricity bill for three months. They cut the electricity. My father-in-law paid for it and made them open it.

"The boss made us work for more hours than stipulated by the law; he said, 'Work, I won't be unfair. I set aside your fair share from the mined coal.' But he closed the mine in February. Now, he says, 'Come and work, I will pay your money.' We tell him to give the previous ones. He says, 'No.' Why should I work if I cannot get my salary from a year ago?

"We went through all sorts of things while we were still working there. We were made to work for 8 hours, not for 6 hours and 15 minutes as stipulated by the law. We were not given food or service. We went to work by our own means, we prepared our food ourselves.

"The mine was closed due to its shortcomings. The coal that we mined was sold as if it was mined from somewhere else. We filed a criminal complaint at the prosecutor's office, saying that it was corruption. But no..."

'The boss accumulates capital through our labor'

Independent Mine Work Labor Union's Organization Director Başaran Aksu also filed a criminal complaint today (September 1).

Noting that the workers have started resisting in front of the mine to get their unpaid wages and severance, Başaran Aksu has shared the following information about the related mining company:

"It is Cenne Mining. Its owner is Hatem Özbey. There are two families doing mining business in Ermenek. The other family is Uygars. They sometimes work together. Doing mining business in Ermenek, Soma, Söke, Aydın, Milas, Konya and other places for years, these two families' main function is to accumulate capital by usurping workers' rights. All their practice is based on that.

"Just next to the mine where workers now resist, there is a mine called Has Şeker Mining. 18 workers drowned there on October 28, 2014. Its license owner was Abdullah Özbey while its manager was Şükür Uyar.

"Such a brutal and primitive mechanism of exploitation is operated here by two families. As none of the ones working in this closed mine can get their severance pay, they want their rights. Workers file a criminal complaint, lawsuits are opened, but these families have some kind of immunity. What workers want is their rights." (HA/SD)