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The workers of the Farplas Automotive factory in Kocaeli Gebze Automotive Procurement Specialized Organized Industrial Zone locked themselves up in the factory for their union rights today (January 31).
While production stopped at the factory, the dismissed workers of the factory started protesting inside the factory. Shortly afterwards, the police stormed the Farplas factory, taking several workers, union representatives and the ones who were there in support into custody.
In a statement released by the United Metalworkers' Union later in the day, it has been announced the detained workers have been released: "Our friends who resisted for their union rights and were taken into custody have been released after their statements were taken."
108 people detained, one had his leg broken
According to the reports, after the workers locked themselves up in the factory in protest, the police tried to disperse them with pepper gas. Storming the factory, they detained workers, including United Metalworkers' Union Gebze No. 2 Branch Chair Necmettin Aydın and Branch Secretary Engin Kulu, and took them out of the factory in 5 detention minibusses.
The police sprayed pepper gas on the ones who wanted to prevent the detention vehicles from leaving the factory. Two people fainted during the intervention. One person reportedly had his leg broken.
108 people in total, 106 workers and union representatives at the factory and two executives of the DGD-SEN Union who came to the factory in support, were taken to the Gebze District Security Directorate.
The 108 detained workers, union representatives and executives have been reportedly released after giving their statements.
Support from workers, unions, parties
Also, workers from other factories where the United Metalworkers' Union Gebze No. 1 and No. 2 Branches are organized came in front of the Farplas factory and chanted slogans in support of the workers.
United Metalworkers' Union Chair Adnan Serdaroğlu addressed the workers there. Workers have also been supported by several unions and political parties such as the Lastik-İş, Limter-İş and DGD-SEN unions and the opposition parties CHP, HDP, Labor Party, Left Party and DİP.
What happened?
The workers of Farplas factory demanded a wage increase. However, finding the pay rise offer made on January 19 insufficient, the workers halted work at the factory in protest. The employer started negotiating with workers in response to this. During the negotiations, the employer promised workers that no workers would be dismissed in this process.
While production resumed on January 20, the negotiations also continued. In the meantime, the workers who were not members of a union started joining the United Metalworkers' Union. They also received their authorization certificate from the Ministry of Labor and Social Security. Amid these developments, the employer dismissed nearly 150 workers, both members and non-members of the union, by citing the Code-29. As the reason for the dismissal, the employer referred to their protest on January 19.
In response to the employer's attitude not recognizing the workers' right to unionize and dismissing workers, the workers' resistance grew.
The workers of the Farplas locked themselves up in the factory for their union rights on January 31. While production stopped at the factory, the dismissed workers started protesting inside the factory.
— BİRLESİK METAL-İŞ (@BirlesikMetal) January 30, 2022
Following the police officers' preparations for an attack, some workers went up to the roof and continued protesting there by chanting slogans. In the meanwhile, the police kept harassing workers with a drone.
Amid the workers' protest, police officers stormed the factory. The workers continued with their resistance at the roof.
In the face of police officers' attempts to detain workers, the United Metalworkers' Unoın has said, "Police detain workers by intervening against them at the roof of Farplas. Workers say that they will jump. All authorities will be liable for this even if a single person's nose bleeds."
Polis farplas çatısında işçilere müdahale ederek gözaltı yapıyor işçiler atlayacağız diyorlar bir kişinin burnu bile kanarsa sorumlusu tüm yetkililerdir. pic.twitter.com/y3wtUQrlaE
— BİRLESİK METAL-İŞ (@BirlesikMetal) January 31, 2022
In a statement of the Union about the incident, it was announced that nearly 200 workers, along with union branch executives and representatives who were at the factory in solidarity, had been taken into custody by the police as a result of its attack with pepper gas.
#Farplas işçilerini polis yaka paça gözaltına alıyor.
— BİRLESİK METAL-İŞ (@BirlesikMetal) January 31, 2022
Drone ile tespit edilen işçiler ters kelepçe takılarak minübüslerde bekletiliyor
50 kadar #Farplas işçisi hala çatıda. "Aşağı atlarız" diyerek saldırıyı protesto ediyorlar.#farplasiscisiyalnızdeğildir pic.twitter.com/FjejYs0xqt
Workers' demands
- Four salaries should be paid as a bonus and the bonus should be rearranged as 100 percent.
- The current wage increase is insufficient; wages should be improved.
- The income tax cuts should be afforded by employers.
- When planned downtime is the case, workers should be given administrative leave, not annual leave.
- The promised 10-percent margin should be paid during the transition from 12 hours to 8 hours.
- The amounts of social aid: Minimum 1,000 lira for food aid; minimum 1,000 lira for a feast fee; minimum 2,000 lira for fuel allowance; 500 lira for shoe allowance; minimum 1,000 lira as an aid for students at primary school, 1,500 lira for high school, 2,000 lira for university.
- The minimum fee to be paid for annual leave should be 750 lira.
- The salaries of workers should be recalculated based on the inflation difference every six months.
- Workers should not be assigned with tasks that do not fall within the scope of their job descriptions and no minutes should be taken down when they refuse to do these tasks.
- Absenteeism premiums should not be cut from the salaries of the workers who have to be on leave based on a medical report due to health problems.
- The differences among workers based on their seniority should be maintained.
- The overtime work allowances should be 100 percent on weekdays, 200 percent at the weekend and 300 percent on feast days.
- Private health insurance should be offered.
(TP/SD)
