'We worked under unhealthy conditions for years. Are we now evil when we demand our rights?'

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Some say, "I have been working in this factory for five years," and someone else,"We were inside the paint when working, in contact with poisonous chemicals, when we wanted to get what we deserve, we were laid off."

The ones speaking are the workers of the Mata Otomotiv Factory producing spare parts for the automobile industry in Tuzla, İstanbul.
Nearly 1300 workers, who are members of the Unitel Metal Workers Union (Birleşik Metal-İş), demanded an extra 25 percent increase after the high inflation rates. They also requested that their working conditions be improved. The hourly wage of the workers is 49 lira (2,43 Euro).

The company overlooked the workers' demand and the workers went on strike on February 28. The first thing the company did was to lay off 51 workers who organized the strike action and called the other workers back to work, sending them messages. Some workers returned to work.

Workers also address to Elon Musk

The factory produces and sells spare parts to European countries. Some chemicals that are forbidden in these countries are used in production in this factory because they are not forbidden in Turkey. The factory has problems in the deliveries of orders from Europe and the workers are often singing a folk song making reference to this which says, "It is snowing far up there, haven't you seen it? Where this will go in the end; haven't you thought about it"

Many workers are also angry at Elon Musk. Half-joking, the workers who are producing cables in the scope of the Tesla project call on Elon Musk to hear them.

Today is the 18th day of their action. A thousand workers, 178 of whom are women, continue their struggle for better conditions.
Yeliz Aydın has been working in the laying operation in the factory for two years. She says, "We have been producing for Tesla. We lay the products and the operation starts. Workplace safety rules are not implemented strictly. We demanded an extra pay rise because the cost of living is very high. The pay rise we got was of no use to us. We first went to strike for one hour, and then we all walked out of the factory and we have been in a sit-in here for 18 days now."

The employer employed extra security guards when the strike started. "Maybe he thought that we could cause damage in the factory, but we could do this if we wanted when we were in the factory. None of our friends have such an intention," Aydın says.

What would she like to tell the employers if they were here now?

Aydın replies saying, "We worked under unhealthy conditions for years. We kept silent. Are they now thinking ill of us when we demand what we deserve? We the women are not even able to use the toilets here. They did not let us use the toilets on the first day of our action. They closed the tea rooms. They closed the heaters. The human resources manager of this factory is also a woman. I was ashamed of all these done; was she not?

Code 46 for dismissals

Songül has been working in this factory for 12 years.

She says that what they are asking for is their rights. "I do not deserve such humiliation," she says. She states that they were going to stop work for one hour and return. "But they locked the doors so that we could not enter," she explains.

Nezahat has been working here for 7 years. "We won each other," she says. She is determined to stay until the end of the collective action and she is hopeful that they will win.

Sonay is another worker laid off. She also speaks out. "I want everyone to hear," she says, "Workplace health and safety is non-existent here. There is no cleaning. The meals are very bad. I am working in the painting dyeing plant and there is not a single ventilation. We want to work in a healthy and peaceful environment."

Yet another woman laid off is Saniye. She has been dismissed with code 46 of the Labor Law. This code includes humiliating reasons for dismissals from robbery to harming the reputation of the employer. The workers are not entitled to unemployment benefits and they lose other benefits and rights when the employer dismisses them with code 46.

Saniye's words reflect the thoughts and demands of all workers. She says, "They should write the real reason for our dismissal. We demanded better working conditions. We demanded higher wages. But our demands were not met. We want to return to work." (EMK/PE)