Sputnik strike: Court rejects request by management to suspend the strike

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The strike of journalists at the Turkey office of the Russian government-affiliated media organization Sputnik witnessed a new development today, with the court rejecting the request made by the Sputnik management for the strike to be stopped.

Maxim Durnev, the Director of the Sputnik Istanbul Liaison Office, and Elena Kochetkova, the Deputy Head of the Sputnik Ankara Bureau, filed a lawsuit against the Journalists' Union of Turkey (TGS) on August 17, the date when the strike began.

They alleged that the Journalists' Union of Turkey (TGS) implemented the strike decision without observing the legal waiting period.

The Sputnik management also claimed that the union did not notify the Sputnik Ankara Liaison Office about the strike and requested a precautionary measure to suspend the strike decision.

The Istanbul 4th Labor Court, after evaluating the request, ruled against Sputnik.

What happened?

Sputnik employees organized themselves within the Journalists' Union of Turkey (TGS). After the Journalists' Union of Turkey (TGS) obtained authorization by applying to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, the union and Sputnik sat down to negotiate a collective labor agreement. After more than six months of negotiations, Sputnik disbanded the negotiation table. On top of that, they fired the 24 journalists who had joined the union. In response, TGS went on strike both in Ankara and Istanbul on August 17. (HA/PE)