Mitsuba recognizes union after workers lock themselves in factory

Photo: United Metalworkers' Union

Click to read the article in Turkish

After 10 of their unionized colleagues were fired, 130 workers of Mitsuba, a company producing automotive parts, locked themselves in the factory in Gebze, Kocaeli on Monday (October 11).

The workers ended the protest late yesterday after the DİSK United Metalworkers' Union and the company agreed to start negotiations for a collective bargaining agreement.

Having recognized the workers' right to unionize, the company accepted to negotiate on a draft collective agreement prepared by the union.

However, it refused to reinstate 10 union workers that it fired. It reportedly promised to pay the workers' compensation and will wait for the litigation process for the workers' reinstatement.

Necmettin Aydın, the head of the United Metalworkers' Union Gebze Branch No. 2, said they prevented a police raid on the factory after meetings with the governor's office and the provincial security directorate.

Also, no legal action will be taken against the workers who locked themselves in the factory, he added.

While not being fully satisfied with the agreement with the company, they have achieved "significant gains," he said.

What happened?

The DİSK United Metalworkers' Union was authorized to represent the workers at the factory. The factory management appealed against this authorization by taking legal action.

The court sent the file to the authorized court. Ahead of the first hearing scheduled for January 2022, the employer started dismissing the unionized workers.

About Mitsuba

Founded in 1946, Mitsuba is one of the most important automotive supplier companies of Japan. It consists of 47 different companies across the world.

It manufactures a wide range of automotive parts, from mirrors to electric windows systems and fuel pumps.

The company has more than 20,000 employees worldwide and has a turnover exceeding 3 billion dollars, according to most recent figures.

Mitsuba entered Turkey in 2016 when it purchased 80 percent of the Teklas Rubber Industries, one of the leading automotive parts manufacturers in Turkey. It later bought the remaining shares of the company as well.

(HA/VK)