'Journalists strong when united': BBC Turkish goes on strike

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The employees of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) İstanbul bureau went on strike today (January 14), which marks the first strike action in Turkey's press history in the last 13 years since 2009.

The strike has begun as the collective bargaining between the Journalists' Union of Turkey (TGS) and BBC has ended in disagreement.

The collective bargaining began on August 9, 2021.

In line with the decision to strike, the strike banner was hung in front of the BBC office in İstanbul's Gümüşsuyu in the morning today. While several journalists supported the strike of their colleagues at BBC Turkish, the press statement was also attended by Ahmet Şık, the İstanbul MP of the Workers' Party of Turkey (TİP) and a former journalist himself.

'BBC doesn't grasp the severity of the situation'

Making a statement there, TGS Chair Gökhan Durmuş said, "We are on strike for our rights" and stated the following about the issue:

"Unfortunately, we were not able to reach an agreement in collective bargaining talks launched on August 9, 2021 on behalf of journalists working at the BBC İstanbul bureau. As we launch this strike today, we declare that we will not give up without securing our rights.

"For the past 6 months, we have explained to the BBC how the economic turmoil has melted the staff's salaries. Inflation and the rising cost of living have caused a significant blow to purchasing power. Our demands under these deteriorating economic conditions are realistic and humane.

"The Turkish Statistical Institute announced inflation as 36 percent in 2021, though independent economists put the figure as high as 82 percent. The BBC's final offer of a 20-percent increase in pay during the talks will therefore not sufficiently address the meltdown in the staff's wages.

The offer comes after the BBC gave İstanbul staff only a 7-percent pay increase in 2020, when official inflation in Turkey stood at 14.6 percent. We see that the BBC, which has not matched pay raises even to contested official inflation figures in recent years, does not grasp the severity of the situation

'We see it as discrimination'

"The injustice is exacerbated by the devaluation of the Turkish lira, the worst performing emerging market currency in 2021. The currency's collapse has reduced the cost to the BBC of the İstanbul staff's wages, which are paid in liras, by nearly half.

We also do not accept that journalists in İstanbul, who are proud to work for the BBC, are refused a number of fundamental rights that are standard market practice in Turkey. We see as discrimination the lack of recognition of some rights for İstanbul staff that are granted to BBC journalists in the UK and many other BBC bureaus.

"We expected the BBC to respond positively to our calls and we tried extensively to solve the problems at the negotiation table. However, the offers we received were far from fair. Until we receive a fair offer, this strike banner will remain here and our strike observers will be on watch every day. Our demands are reasonable and can be met by the BBC.

"We have the right to expect a fair offer, acknowledging worsening conditions on the ground and respecting the rights of employees.

"We will once again show that journalists are strong when united." (HA/SD)