Six unionized workers recently fired by the CarrefourSA grocery chain staged protests outside its stores in two separate locations in İstanbul yesterday.
After the second protest at a shopping mall in the Zeytinburnu district, the workers were detained by the police and subjected to degrading treatment, according to a video released by the Dock, Harbor, Shipyard and Marine Workers' Union (DGD-SEN).
Its members were detained "by being pressed on their heads and beaten," said the union. The police also reportedly used pepper spray directly on the faces of the detained workers.
CarrefourSA depo işçileri ve örgütlenme uzmanımız kafalarına basılarak dövülerek gözaltına alındı!
— DGD-SEN (@DGDSEN) August 26, 2024
Bu işçiler kimsesiz mi?
Bu mücadele sadece bizim mi?@SabanciHolding'e ait her yer direniş alanıdır, tüm emek kamuoyunu mücadeleyi sahiplenmeye çağırıyoruz! pic.twitter.com/rWZhRvqtTp
Also, the workers expressed their frustration with the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP). "There's no word from the CHP, from [its leader] Özgür Özel. We're alone," they said during the protest.
“Greetings from Sabancı”
During the altercation, police officers told the workers “We brought you greetings from Sabancı,” referring to the wealthy family that co-owns the grocery chain with the French giant Carrefour, according to reporting from Mezopotamya Agency (MA).
The union responded to this today on social media with messages “Sabancı’s greeting cannot stop us” and “Greetings to Sabancı, continue the resistance” accompanying videos from workers’ protests.
They also called on the public to boycott CarrefourSA to support the workers' struggle.
"We can't pay the bills"
The previous protest outside a CarrefourSA store in the Armoni Mall in the Küçükçekmece district ended without police intervention. During this demonstration, a woman worker named Gülşah addressed the people in the mall, saying, "We were fired along with four of our colleagues because we requested an interim raise. We have been struggling for 15 days without food and water. We have all been aggrieved. We cannot pay our bills, our rents. We cannot face our children."
Gülşah pleaded with the public to boycott CarrefourSA, saying, "As a mother, I beg you: Do not shop at CarrefourSA, do not be complicit in this crime. We did not steal, we did not cheat. We want the reward for our labor, our sweat, our four years of effort."
Background
Workers’ protest began on Aug 10 when CarrefourSA dismissed six workers at its warehouse in the Esenyurt district.
Six CarrefourSA warehouse workers were dismissed on Aug 10 after they demanded a raise and improved working conditions. All were members of the Dock, Harbor, Shipyard and Marine Workers' Union (DGD-SEN).
Almost all of the warehouse's 300 workers collectively walked off the job on the same day their colleagues were fired, protesting the dismissals and demanding improved conditions. Two days later, they started a work stoppage that has persisted since then. (VK)