Incirlik air base, which came on the agenda with the United States of America (USA) revealing plans to attack Iraq, is once again a hot subject, because of the labor strike.
The representatives of the Mediterranean province of Adana branch of the union of Turkish war industry workers and the representatives of Air Force were unable to agree on a salary policy.
No agreement
While the workers asked for pay rises that are proportional to the inflation and once in three months, the employer insisted on granting pay rises only once in six months.
This disagreement has resulted in a labor strike by the Turkish workers. This is not the first time however, that the workers at American air bases decide to strike.
First strike in 1967
The workers at the Incirlik air base went on strike for the first time in the summer of 1967. The "Incirlik boycott," which consisted of strikes at seven U.S. facilities in Ankara, ended with the "interference of the state."
1,400 workers at the Incirlik air base on December 1, 1975 went on strike after 42 of their friends were laid off. This boycott ended when some workers were employed again on December 12, and when another 26 workers were laid off on January 26.
During the Gulf War
During the Gulf War in April 1990, the labor union, at the collective work contract meetings, asked for more job security and compensation for their losses. It demanded pay rises proportional to the inflation. At the end of the meetings, the union did not get what they asked for, and so the workers went on strike.
Because of the strike that started on August 2, 1992, the commandership at the base had to employ itinerant kitchens to provide the 5, 300 soldiers with food. The commandership also had to close down its markets, restaurants, gas stations and other service areas. The strike was postponed when the Gulf Crisis began.
Air Base?
Another strike, which started in July 1998, lasted for a month. At the Incirlik air base, that employs 1,400 workers, life almost stopped.
When the strike ended, Izzet Cetin, the head of the union of Turkish war industry workers, reacted to the American employer that broke the strike, and said, "We strongly criticize the employer who threatened and broke the strike by telling that the Turkish American relations would be destroyed."
About 5,300 Americans are stationed at Incirlik, a Turkish air force facility that houses the U.S. Air Force 39th Wing and the 39th Air and Space Expeditionary Wing. The American units, along with British and French allies, enforce the U.N.-mandated no-fly zone over northern Iraq. (BB/EA/NM)
