"Striking is a Democratic Right"

“News which portray strikes as threatening the economy are one-sided and stop labourers from seeking justice”, say labour representatives. They have responded to the “warning bells” that the mainstream media have rung as the possibility of strikes becomes greater.

Strikes predicted

At the moment, many trade unions in Turkey are considering action. 

The Turkish Telecom, which has been privatised to 51 percent, is a member of the Turkey Haber-Is trade union, and a strike is on the cards.

Members of a branch of the Tez Koop-Is trade union, representing employees in “business, cooperatives, education, offices and fine arts” have decided to strike after no agreement could be reached in their collective bargaining.

The disagreements of 3,000 workers organised in the Petrol-Is Trade Union with their employer Petkim, a petro-chemical holding, continues.

Pier Enterprises, linked to Maritime Enterprises, has also decided on strike.

Turkish Airlines (THY) employees have long decided on a strike.

Media speaks of economic breakdown 

The mainstream media has long represented these developments as a “flood of strikes” which threaten to destroy the country’s economy. Zaman newspaper, for instance, says that “the business world is worried about stability breaking down.”

Just as Turkey is trying to deal with the repercussions the USA financial crisis has had, there are bad news from the production side of the economy.

bianet has spoken to several trade union representatives on media attitudes and the disagreements between capitalists and workers.

Government was praising economy before elections 

Musa Cam, chairperson of the Confederation of Revolutionary Workers Trade Unions (DISK), points out that the government made very positive statements about the economy prior to the general elections, claiming that inflation was going down, the stock exchange was rising, and that income per capita had risen to 6,000 dollars. He asks, “If everything is going so well, why is it that workers are not happy?”

He says that by warning of a “paralysis of the country’s economy”, what they are really doing is freezing the wages and social rights of workers and oppressing them.”

Cam: Strikes are a means, not an aim

“Striking is never an aim, but it is a means to achieve better working conditions and social rights. In order to improve conditions, this means is unavoidable.”

Cam does not believe that strikes affect the country’s economy negatively, saying: “Keeping wages down is dangerous in an economic sense; if workers and civil servants do not earn enough to live a humane life, then domestic consumption is frozen."

"If the strikes lead to wages that allow people to have a good life and to more social rights, then this will stimulate domestic consumption. Then the strikes will have a positive effect.”

Uslu: Trade union rights are human rights

Salim Uslu, chairperson of the Hak-Is trade union confederation, says that trade union rights have been accepted for two generations.

“Those who criminalise trade union activities and claim that the economy will react negatively do not know their business. Strikes never harm the economy; those who make those claims are the enemies of labour. Trade unions are the driving force behind the economy.”

Tombul: They are trying to obstruct workers

Ismail Hakki Tombul, chairperson of the Confederation of Public Workers’ Trade Unions (KESK), criticises the media for being biased and only interpreting events from the perspective of employers: “Striking is a democratic right; workers who are managing services need to live in humane conditions.”

Cavdar: Strike is inevitable

Mustafa Cavdar, general secretary of the Petrol-Is trade union, says that workers in his trade union have lost up to twenty percent of their income in the last five years. Wages are going down and, he says, “it is essential that workers seek their rights with a strike.”

Cavdar maintains that the effects of the strikes will only be felt at an institutional level: “The economy does not founder because of strikes. These kinds of interpretations are a way of complaining about workers to the public. Why should the economy be affected if Turkish Airlines strike? It will only affect the company.” (NK/NZ/AG)