AFP journalists in İstanbul go on strike after collective agreement talks fail

Journalists at the Agence France-Presse (AFP) office in Turkey launched a strike on Jul 6 after collective bargaining agreement negotiations ended in a dispute. Striking workers hung a banner reading "There is a strike at this workplace" at the agency's office in İstanbul.

The Journalists Union of Turkey (TGS), which represents the workers in negotiations, visited the striking journalists today to mark the union's 74th anniversary.

Speaking during the visit, TGS Chair Gökhan Durmuş emphazised the importance of marking their anniversary together with striking journalists:

"Celebrating our 74th birthday in this strike tent will be the greatest respect shown to the history of our union. The history of our union is full of journalists organizing, seeking rights, and striking. Celebrating our new age in this strike tent today is therefore very meaningful. We are resisting to get the rights of our members working at AFP. We are resisting because we do not accept the low-wage working model imposed on us. 

"We are resisting against an imposed wage that is even below the inflation figures announced by TurkStat, which are far from reality and aimed at hiding the economic crisis in the country. Journalist poverty is not destiny. Journalists are responsible for delivering accurate information to the public. It would be unfair to expect objectivity from journalists who are forced to worry about rent, bills, and the bread to bring home in the evening."

BIA Media Monitoring Reports

13 December 2024

Support from France

AFP journalist Burçin Çiçek told bianet that they received support from trade unions in France:

"The unions in France supported us. They published our statements on the AFP portal. International press organizations, the European Federation of Journalists, and the International Federation of Journalists also issued statements of support. There were also people working in different offices of AFP who sent us individual messages of support. We are lucky in this sense. This also gives us strength."

AFP journalist Yasin Akgül stated that they did not accept the terms dictated by AFP:

"Our first demand was unofficial inflation. Because the figures provided by ENAG correspond to reality in Turkey and are more accurate. Official inflation never reflects reality. In our news reports, we include both ENAG and TurkStat. We demanded a 32% raise. The inflation data of TurkStat is also this. However, AFP imposes a 25% raise, which is below inflation. We started the strike by rejecting these impositions.

"Even though there is a very small difference, they persist in not meeting even this. The issue they are insisting on here is actually the union struggle. Because we could not agree on these figures, we could not even talk about other social benefits. Our strike will continue until we get our rights."

The Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) reported annual inflation at 32.11% in June, with a monthly increase of 0.99 percent. Meanwhile, the Inflation Research Group (ENAG), an independent group of economists that publishes alternative monthly calculations, reported that annual inflation reached 51.49%, with a monthly rise of 1.94%. (FY/VK)