İstanbul Municipality workers continue protest for improved wages

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The ongoing protest initiated by workers of the Tree and Landscape Corporation (Ağaç AŞ), a subsidiary of the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality, to address grievances and demand wage improvements continues.

A group of Ağaç AŞ workers spent the night of August 14 holding a vigil in a park opposite the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality's Saraçhane Building.

Early in the morning, the workers reassembled at Saraçhane Park, chanting slogans such as "Ağaç AŞ workers are not slaves", "Rights, justice, law", and "Resisting workers are invincible."

Addressing municipality officials, the Ağaç AŞ workers declared, "We will not leave until our rights are granted. If we have no bread, you will have no peace."

Cengiz Çiçek, a Green Left Party deputy, visited the workers, emphasizing the importance of preserving green spaces in İstanbul. He said, "İstanbul has become a concrete jungle. There are very few green areas left in parks and gardens. The ones who preserve, protect, plant, and harvest that greenery are the Ağaç AŞ workers. We stand by your resistance against those who seek to exploit your labor."

"Warning" to workers

The Ağaç AŞ management issued a "warning" to the protesting workers via an SMS. The message highlighted the ongoing process of periodic wage improvements and stated: "Considering that our company provides a public service, we remind you that you need to continue the tasks assigned to you. During this process, we would like to express that we will have to take legal and legitimate actions according to the Labor Law for employees who do not continue due to unauthorized absences. During this process, we kindly request that you do not give credence to information coming from sources outside of our organization."

DİSK/BTO-Sen (Union of Civil Servants of Agriculture, Forestry, Husbandry and Veterinary Services), is demanding that the Ağaç AŞ workers benefit from the collective bargaining agreement signed between the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality affiliate company Boğaziçi Management Inc. and DİSK/Genel İş Union on August 4.

DİSK highlighted the details of the Boğaziçi Management AŞ agreement, pointing out that the increase in daily wages for union members ranged from 74% to 130% between December 31, 2022, and July 1, 2023. The agreement also reduced the weekly working hours from 45 to 40 and increased social support payments to 1,100 TL, while improving working conditions.

DİSK/BTO-Sen emphasized that Ağaç AŞ workers can no longer endure being confined to minimum wages and called for wage improvements. (VC/VK)