* Photo: Turan Aktaş / Twitter
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Dismissed from the İstanbul Şişli Municipality of the Republican People's Party (CHP), four workers have been protesting for reinstatement, saying, "We want our jobs." Three of the four workers made a statement in front of the CHP Central Office in Ankara today (September 27).
Turan Aktaş, one of the workers marching from İstanbul to the capital city in protest, addressed main opposition CHP Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and reiterated their demand for reinstatement.
"We have been resisting for 678 days," said Turan Aktaş in front of the CHP, adding, "Our resistance has not ended here. We will keep resisting in front of the Şişli Municipality until we take back our jobs and daily bread. Our resistance is a struggle for bread and honor."
Şişli Belediyesi önünde 670 gündür devam eden direnişimiz de 15 Eylül'de başlayan yürüyüşümüze tüm işkencelere tutuklama çalışmalarına rağmen CHP Genel Merkezi önüne vardık. Ankara polisi genel merkeze girmemize engel oldu. CHP Genel Merkezi önünde açıklamamızı yaptık. +++ pic.twitter.com/JJtIwxNgQ7
— turan aktaş (@turanakta18) September 27, 2021
Workers Turan Aktaş, Mehmet Tunça and Ramazan Çelik decided to march from İstanbul to the CHP Central Office in Ankara to express their demands for reinstatement. They set off for Ankara last week. Sakil Yazar, the other worker, is still resisting in front of the Şişli Municipality.
Having arrived in Düzce province on their way to the capital, workers Turan Aktaş and Mehmet Tunçay were taken into custody there on charge of "being members of an organization" following a criminal record check. They were released from detention after giving their statements.
Speaking to bianet, Ramazan Çelik previously said, "We had been resisting for 667 days because we were dismissed in an unlawful and unfair manner. They dismissed us by saying that 'we did not comply with work ethics' as per the Code-29.* We are after our bread and honor." (AS/SD)
* Code-29 was a legal way used by employers to dismiss workers despite the layoff ban in Turkey amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
