Workers at İzmir factory mark over 400 days on strike over union rights

Workers at the Temel Conta seal factory in Kemalpaşa, İzmir, have been on strike for 402 days, demanding recognition of their union rights. They say they have endured years of working under minimum wage and unsafe conditions.

Sinem Kaya, the strike spokesperson, told bianet that the workers were fighting for their dignity and future.

“Our only demand was for our right to unionize to be recognized and for a collective bargaining agreement to be signed,” she said.

Ministry fined employer for strikebreaking

Kaya accused the employer of undermining their constitutional rights by attempting to break the strike.

“Because we were on strike, our work was being done by workers at the company’s other factory in Pınarbaşı,” she said. “The Labor Ministry documented this three times and imposed fines.”

She added that the employer is now relocating the Kemalpaşa factory to the Torbalı Pancar Organized Industrial Zone. “This is a clear attempt to break our strike,” she said.

Strike ongoing since 2024

Kaya also shared the background of union organizing efforts at the factory.

“There was an attempt to unionize in 1984 under the Turkish Metal Union, but it lost its legal standing within two years. Since then, the employers made sure no union would enter the factory again,” she said.

“We became members of a union in 2022 and waited for the court to grant it bargaining authority. When the employer refused to negotiate, we decided to strike. We began our strike at the Kemalpaşa factory on Dec 10, 2024, in coordination with the Petrol-İş Union.”

Long-time employees earning minimum wage

Kaya criticized the factory’s wage policy, noting that even veteran workers earn just slightly above the legal minimum.

“At Temel Conta, employees who’ve worked for 35, 25, or even 10 years earn only 50 to 100 liras above minimum wage,” she said. “They call this ‘above minimum wage.’ When a 20-year employee joined the strike, their monthly salary was 17,200 liras.”

Kaya, who has served as strike spokesperson for over a year, expressed strong support for the union.

“From day one, the Petrol-İş Union has stood with us,” she said. “The union has never lost the spirit of struggle that it has carried for 75 years. It taught us the importance and strength of organized resistance. With that spirit, we will continue pitching our tents in front of the factory every day and keep up the fight.”

She concluded by reaffirming the workers’ determination to continue the strike and called for support from all laborers. (EB/EMK/VK)