Worker Gökçe Damar: I struggle for my daughter

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Dismissed from Pas South factory in Çerkezköy Organized Industrial Zone for joining Petrol-İş Union, workers have been determinedly resisting for 28 days, performing folk dances in front of the factory.

One of these workers is Gökçe Damar. She started doing wiring assembly for the company in 2020. She says, "Struggling is beautiful despite everything". Noting that she is trying to raise her child on her own and her mother is taking care of the child, she emphasizes that all they want is reinstatement.

'They cut the natural gas, we worked like that in the cold'

Gökçe Damar says that it is the first time that she has become a member of a union and she did not think that she would be dismissed for joining one. She is in front of the factory all day long, protesting.

Trying to make her voice heard with slogans and folk dances in front of the factory from 7 in the morning to 5 in the evening, worker Gökçe Damar says: "Our colleagues inside are supporting us as well. We did not have any problems while we were working. The moment we joined the union, problems began. They started to cause us problems..."

Damar recalls that the factory cut the natural gas due to the price increase and workers worked in a very cold environment without the heaters working and with their coats on. She also remembers that they did not even give them fleece wrappings for 18 months. Workers were given waists thanks to their insistence right before they were dismissed from their jobs.

'They held me by the arm and dismissed me'

Gökçe recounts her dismissal in following words:

"Mobbing, pressures and insults intensified even further in the recent periods. I think it was February 17. The shift supervisor came and said, 'Take your personal belongings, HR manager is calling you'. They held me by the arm and took me to the human resources.

"The HR manager said, 'We are downsizing due to the COVID-19, we dismiss you'. I said, 'You hired someone in the morning and dismissed me in the afternoon'. The HR department said that it was the decision of the company management and they dismissed me. They put papers before me and told me to sign them; but I did not sign any of the papers.

"Joining a labor union is not a crime; we are struggling for our union rights here. Our request is reinstatement. My daughter sees what is happening and says, 'Mom, I will look after you when I grow up'. And I am working for her. I am struggling for my daughter". (EMK/SD)