Gendarmerie takes 22 textile workers into custody in Urfa

Workers at Özak Textile, located in the Urfa Organized Industrial Zone, have been on strike since November 27 in response to pressure to change unions and dismissals from their jobs.

On the 10th day of the collective action (December 6), gendarmerie forces intervened with the workers who are members of the United Textile, Weaving, and Leather Workers Union (BİRTEK-SEN), closing off the street where the factory is located with barriers. 

The post on the BİRTEK-SEN's X social media account stated the following:

"This morning, the resistance in front of Özak Textile started with the gendarmerie's intervention using gas and batons. Our Union President, two union executives, and a total of 19 workers, making 22 individuals, were taken into custody. Özak workers continue their struggle. After the attack, workers in the factory also joined our ranks."

Sevda Karaca, the Member of Parliament for the Labour Party (EMEP) in Gaziantep, expressed her reaction to the gendarmerie intervention against BİRTEK-SEN executives and Özak Textile workers.

Karaca, in a post on her X social media account, stated, "There is barbarism in Urfa. Is Urfa under the feudal rule of Özak Textile's owner? Are the interests of the employer superior to all laws, rights, and justice? Workers and union executives should be released immediately!"

On Monday (December 4), BİRTEK-SEN member workers, who were prevented from going to the factory entrance, drew attention to the hiring of new workers as 'strikebreakers' and stated, "If the workers demanding their rights cannot enter this factory, no one will enter. Strikebreakers will not enter either." They had blocked some of the roads leading to the factory. (VC/PE)