Agrobay greenhouse workers continue protests outside of consulates

A group of workers from the Agrobay greenhouse company who were dismissed from their jobs due to their affiliation with the Agricultural Workers' Union (Tarım-Sen), continued their 42-day-long protest in İstanbul. These workers have been protesting against the violations of their rights, humiliation, threats, and insults they faced during their employment.

Representing the 39 dismissed unionized workers, a delegation spoke out in front of the consulates of the main buyer countries of Agrobay, shedding light on the employer's violations and presenting their demands.

According to the reports from Yeni Yaşam, the workers initiated their protest in front of the U.S. Consulate, and the chair of Tarım-Sen, Umut Kocagöz, articulated their demands: "We came to the consulates of the countries where Agrobay conducts its trade to send a message to the people of those countries."

Kocagöz urged the importers in the United States to reconsider their commercial relations with Agrobay in light of the violations.

The Tarım-Sen-affiliated workers continued their protests in front of the UK Consulate. Despite a sudden storm and heavy rainfall, the workers tried to make their voices heard with banners saying, "Give us our rights, Agrobay."

During the protest, Şirin Yıldırım, one of the female workers participating in the resistance, exposed the false accusations made by Arzu Şentürk, the owner of Agrobay, during a program she attended in İzmir.

"The gendarmerie broke my leg, hit me with a shield, and pinned me to the ground. When the radio announcer asked [Arzu Şentürk], she said there were no bad conditions,” she said.

"I fell from the car, broke my spine. But if there had been a seatbelt, my spine wouldn't have been broken. Aren't these tough, bad conditions? Why is she lying? She talks on radio programs. She should invite us there, and we can talk face-to-face.”

Workers from the Trendyol Esenyurt warehouse, who are also involved in a labor dispute, supported the protest in front of the Dutch Consulate. Behice Karabulut, one of the demonstrators, shared that she had worked at Agrobay for 11 years. She recounted how they were dismissed and their severance pay and one month's salary were seized due to their union membership. Karabulut reminded that Tuncay Özkan had promised to help them but had not delivered on that promise. (AEK/VK)