3rd Airport Workers Taken into Custody

* Photograph: Umut-Sen

Click to read the article in Turkish

Workers who stopped working in the construction of the 3rd Airport in İstanbul on the ground of bad working conditions and occupational homicides have been taken into custody.

It has been reported that the detained workers have been taken to three separate police stations in İstanbul after being detained.

The gendarmerie and police forces conducted an operation on September 15 and detained some workers and union members, including the Secretary General of the Construction Workers Union (İnşaat-İş) Yunus Özgür, its Responsible for Organization Deniz Gider, its Spokesperson Uğur Karadaş and Yusuf Yılmaz from the Workers' Party of Turkey, 

The İnşaat-İş made a statement about the detentions on its Twitter account and announced that more than six hundred workers were taken into custody.

The Platform of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHP) also shared the information that 380 of the detained were held in Arnavutköy Police Station, 73 of them in the Maslak Police Station and 90 of them in the Eyüp Police Station.

"They should be released immediately"

A joint statement was released about the detention of the unionists and workers by the Confederation of Public Laborers' Union (KESK), Confederation of the Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DİSK), Turkish Medical Association (TTB), Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB).

In their statement, the confederations and unions have called for the immediate release of the unionists and workers.

"MPs prevented from entering the police station"

Making a statement in front of the Arnavutköy Police Station, the MPs of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Züleyha Gülüm and Erkan Baş stated that they were prevented from entering the building, where 380 workers were held in custody.

Protests in Kadıköy prevented by police

The police also prevented the protests staged in the district of Kadıköy in solidarity with the workers of 3rd Airport.

Intervening in the protests with pepper gas, the police detained the İnşaat-İş representative Kadir Kurt and AFP reporter Bülent Kılıç.

Demands of the workers

The demands of the workers are:

-The workers who joined the protest won't be fired.

-Those who were fired without being informed will be reinstated.

-Shuttle problem will be solved.

-Full wage will be put into bank account, it will not be paid in person.

-Workers and foremen will eat at the same dining hall.

-The İGA officials responsible for the problems will be discharged.

-Demands will be read out in front of the press.

-Occupational homicides will be resolved.

-Bonus will be paid in bairams.

-Workers will be given working clothes.

-Salary of workers who haven't been paid for 6 months will be paid. 

(BK/SD)