Dismissed for joining a union, workers file a suit against company

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Dismissed after joining a labor union, 42 workers have filed a lawsuit against the Reysaş Vehicle Inspection Station, the contractor company of the TÜVTÜRK Motor Vehicle Inspection Inc. in Eskişehir, Zonguldak, Karabük, Bartın, Kastamonu, Tosya, Sivrihisar and Ereğli.

The Zonguldak Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has issued an indictment upon the criminal complaint of the dismissed workers. The executives of the company are charged with "preventing the exercise of trade union rights" as per the Article 118 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK). The Zonguldak 3rd Penal Court of First Instance has accepted the indictment.

Accordingly, Reysaş Executive Board Chair Durmuş Döven, along with Reysaş General Manager and Zonguldak Vehicle Inspection Station Task Master, is now facing 2 years in prison. With the indictment accepted by the court, they will appear before the judge in the upcoming days.

'It is a proof of hostility against union'

Speaking to bianet, Ali Rıza Küçükosmanoğlu, the Chair of the Progressive Trade Union of Land, Air and Rail Transportation Workers (Nakliyat-İş), says that they, as a union, have been getting organized among the workers' of TÜVTÜRK's Reysaş Vehicle Inspection Stations since 2018. He notes that the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services did an inspection on February 28, 2018 to find out whether the union had the majority.

According to what Küçükosmanoğlu says, the judicial process that started upon the employer's objection ended after three years and the Nakliyat-İş union has been authorized to sign a collective agreement.

However, in the process of unionization, 42 workers who joined the union were dismissed, says Küçükosmanoğlu, briefly adding:

"The dismissed workers started a resistance in front of the workplaces in Eskişehir, Karabük and Kastamonu to lay claim to trade union rights. Our resistance in Kastamonu has been ongoing for 491 days.

"During this process, the employer and its representatives dismissed the workers who used their Constitutional rights and became members of our union. In the meantime, they also forced our members to resign from the union. In fact, they even asked some of our members for their e-state [an online system providing access to government services] passwords.

"In response to this, the fellow members of the union have filed a criminal complaint against the employer and its representatives.

"Upon the application of one of our fellow workers, the Zonguldak Chief Public Prosecutor's Office prepared an indictment.

"The prosecutor demanded 2 years in prison for the employer and its representatives for 'preventing the exercise of trade union rights' as per the Article 118 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK). The indictment has been accepted by the Zonguldak 3rd Penal Court of First Instance.

"The fact that the lawsuit has been accepted proves the employer's hostility against the union. Because TÜVTÜRK's contractor company Reysaş has been trying to prevent unionization here since the very beginning. It first dismissed 42 workers, then forced workers to resign. There are similar rulings handed down by courts in Zonguldak before.

"Similarly, there are our friends who won the lawsuits filed by TÜVTÜRK workers dismissed in Muğla. We are hopeful about the case and we believe that it will make the company's hostility against the union official."

TCK Article 118 - Preventing the Exercise of Trade Unions Rights

(1) A person who uses force or threats in order to compel another person to be, or not to be, a member of a trade union, to attend or not to attend activities of a trade union, to leave a trade union or to leave a position of management of a trade union shall be sentenced to a penalty of imprisonment for a term of six months to two years.

(2) In the event that the activities of a trade union are prevented by the use of force, threats, or by means of any other unlawful act, a penalty of imprisonment for a term of one to three years shall be imposed.

(HA/SD)