Protesting mineworkers spend night at gas station

Photo: Bağımsız Maden-İş

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Mineworkers from Soma, Manisa, whose compensations have not been paid for 10 years, spent last night at a gas station in Ankara after police did not allow them in the city.

Forty workers and their families came to the capital city yesterday (July 6) to meet with ministry officials to discuss the issue.

Five representatives of the workers met with Deputy Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Şeref Kalaycı yesterday and attended political parties' group meetings at the parliament today.

Other workers continued their protests in the place where their bus was stopped. Several opposition politicians visited the workers to express support.

Tahir Çetin, the head of the Bağımsız Maden-İş union told bianet that many promises made to them were not kept before. "We have been kept waiting for months, and nothing happened," he said.

"Deputy Minister Şeref Kalaycı told us that a Council of Ministers meeting will be held, that a result will come out of this meeting and that we should wait," he said.

The deputy minister told the workers that a new law concerning compensation payments will be enacted, according to Çetin.

"However, no results have come out from the meeting held yesterday. No statements have been made to us or to the public. Kalaycı told us to wait. We are still waiting.

"If they pass a law as they said, that would make us happy. Because there are mineworkers who can't receive compensation not only at Soma Coal Enterprises but also all across Turkey.

"There are 210 thousand mineworkers employed all around Turkey. It's the right thing to strengthen the law and make it permanent." (HA/VK)