ECONOMY

Date published: 15 February 2022 07:29

~ Modified On: 15 February 2022 09:40

5 min Read

‘We will get our due’: Dismissed workers protest in front of business association

The workers of Migros supermarket chains burned the “Building the Future” report of the Turkish Industry and Business Association in protest: “What is allotted to us is a system of slavery. The dismissal of 257 workers in the dead of winter…”

İstanbul

‘We will get our due’: Dismissed workers protest in front of business association

Click to read the article in Turkish

Dismissed while protesting the 8-percent wage increase, 257 workers are protesting Migros, one of the biggest supermarket chains in Turkey.

Workers came in front of the Turkish Industry and Business Association (TÜSİAD) yesterday (February 14) and set the TÜSİAD's new report on a new economic development model, "Building the Future", on fire in protest in front of the TÜSİAD headquarters in İstanbul's Beyoğlu.

The protest was joined by the Migros Esenyurt warehouse workers who are also members of the Warehouse, Port, Dock and Maritime Workers Union (DGD-SEN). They said, "What is allotted to us is a system of slavery. The dismissal of 257 workers in the dead of winter..."

'We are afraid of checking the bills'

Coming in front of the TÜSİAD, workers read out their statement for the press. They briefly stated the following:

"We are the workers of Esenyurt Migros warehouse. The reason why we are here is this: We were dismissed because we wanted to earn 4 more liras an hour at the warehouse where we worked by risking death during the pandemic. There is not one or two of us. We are 257 workers.

"We have come here to ask why we have been dismissed. We know what this place is. This place is the central office of TÜSİAD, which is chaired by Tuncay Özilhan and is the organization of the bosses managing Turkey. But why are we here? Migros is a company of the Anadolu Group. The ones who have condemned us to living between life and death are here.

We, as workers, no longer have any tolerance to this misery that is offered to us. We are the ones who produce at warehouses, markets, docks, factories... And we do it to death... We wanted our hourly wage to be increased by 4 liras. Is it too much?

"Why did we want it? Listen to us, hear and understand: None of us can make a living. We are afraid of checking the bills. Because of the rent, because of electricity, because of natural gas... That is why...

"We worked to death during the pandemic. Bosses and the ones around them lived in luxury. We died. We were disabled. We were left unemployed.

"Enough is enough now. We do not beg for anything from anyone. We do not want anyone to help us.

"We want our right. We know the ones who usurp our rights. That is why we are here. We do not have a personal matter with Tuncay Özilhan. Just give the pay rise... Otherwise, we will seize all your living spaces.

"We are the ones who produce. We know what is our right. We will take it. If we are disturbed, know that no one can sleep in peace. We call out from here: Our requests are definite and clear. We want to work.

"We want our rightful dues to be given, we want our hourly wages to be increased by 4 liras. We will get back to our job. The premiums will be guaranteed. Our labor safety and health will not be misused. You will either accept it or we are ready for war.

May the press know, may the media know, may Migros know, may Özilhan know and may the palace know. Our people know it. We are here, we are everywhere. We will get our due.

What happened?

Protesting in the face of an 8-percent pay rise, 257 workers of the Migros Depo, the warehouse of Turkey's one of the largest supermarket chains, have been dismissed. The dismissed workers are also the members of the Warehouse, Port, Dock and Maritime Workers Union (DGD-SEN).

Sharing the news with a message on its social media account on February 9, 2022, the DGD-SEN briefly said, "Today, our fellow workers who were shown to be on administrative leave and were inside the warehouse have been dismissed because of solidarizing with our fellow dismissed workers at the door. Migros has dismissed our 257 fellow workers."

Releasing a statement on February 11, Migros admitted the dismissal of 257 resisting workers from the Migros Depo.

Halting work in protest, the workers of the Migros Depo were waiting inside the warehouse in İstanbul's Esenyurt as part of their strike action the other night when the police stormed the warehouse and detained three executives of the DGD-SEN and over 150 workers. The detained people were released from the Kıraç Police Station later in the day.

Workers' requests

Workers of Migros demand that their net hourly wages be increased by 4 TRY, the payment of premiums be legally guaranteed and the necessary measures be taken for labor health and safety.

Who owns Migros?

One of the largest supermarket chains of Turkey, Migros Inc. belongs to the Anadolu Group. With Tuncay Özilhan as the Head of the Executive Board, Migros' firm value increased by over 75 percent in2020.

Of the companies of the group open to the public, Adel Kalemcilik (ADEL), Anadolu Efes (AEFES), Anadolu Isuzu (ASUZU), Coca-Cola İçecek (CCOLA), Migros (MGROS) and Yazıcılar Holding (YAZIC) shares are traded at Borsa İstanbul (İstanbul Stock Exchange).

Anadolu Group has the following companies:

Migros Inc.
Macro Center
Anadolu Efes (Efes Pilsen, Bomonti)
Ramstore
CCI (Coca Cola, Fanta, Sprite, Cappy, Burn, Fuse Tea) - (Sale distribution)
Anadolu Motor, Çelik Motor
AND Gayrimenkul
Efestur

(EMK/SD)

Origin

BIA News Desk

protest dismissal Labor Rights union rights TÜSİAD migros dismissed workers

335 citizens express support for Migros warehouse workers' resistance

15 February 2022

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Turkish lira tumbles as İmamoğlu's detention shakes markets

Following the detention of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and more than 100 others, the Turkish lira lost value against all major currencies, with the US dollar and euro reaching record highs.

For the first time, the US dollar surpassed 41 liras, peaking at 41.64, while the euro rose above 44 lira, hitting a record 44.88.

However, the lira later regained some ground, with the dollar falling to 38 lira and the euro dropping to 42 lira. Economists attribute this recovery to intervention by the Turkish Central Bank.

The currency turmoil also triggered a surge in gold prices, with the price of one gram of gold exceeding 4,000 liras for the first time in history.

After the Central Bank’s intervention, gold prices gradually declined, dropping below 3,800 liras per gram.

The Borsa İstanbul stock exchange's BIST 100 index opened the day with a 6.87% decline, starting at 10,060.48 points.

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(HA/VK)

Origin

Istanbul

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ECONOMY

Date published: 14 March 2025 12:33

~ Modified On: 14 March 2025 12:58

2 min Read

'A hub of labor violations': İstanbul shipyard workers climb crane protesting unpaid wages

The workers highlight unlawful practices by employers, such as misreporting their wages as minimum wage and falsely classifying dismissed workers as "resigned." They claim the government turns a blidn eye to these violations.

Ali Dinç

TRTürkçesini Oku

Ali Dinç

TRTürkçesini Oku

'A hub of labor violations': İstanbul shipyard workers climb crane protesting unpaid wages — Workers on the crane

Fourteen workers laid off from Kuzey Star Shipyard in İstanbul’s Tuzla district have been protesting since Mar 5 over unpaid wages and benefits. Four of the dismissed workers escalated their protest by climbing a tower crane at the shipyard yesterday, vowing not to come down until they receive their dues.

“We’re not just talking about having money in our pockets—our debts are piling up,” said İsa Balıkçı, one of the protesting workers. “When a person has to go home to their family with their head down, unable to look their children in the eye, they might as well be dead. That’s how we feel now.”

Balıkçı said that their struggle has left them with no other option. “We are in the middle of Ramadan, and the holiday is approaching. Forget about having money in our pockets; we’re drowning in debt. They have made us suffer like this for months," he said.

“We didn’t want to resort to this, but we had no other choice. Any father in Turkey would do anything for his children, and we were left with no alternative. This is our ninth day of protest. We kept going to the shipyard’s gates, but no one would listen to us. At one point, they made a promise, saying, ‘We’ll take care of it, we’re sorry.’ But we soon realized it was all lies. They deceived us.

“We won’t be fooled anymore. Now that we’re up here, we’re not coming down until we get what we’re owed. We can’t return to our children empty-handed. We refuse to sit at an empty table during Ramadan.”

Serkan Aksakal, another worker who climbed the crane, also described the protest as their last resort.

“We were laid off, and now we don’t even have money to buy a loaf of bread,” he said. “It’s not just us, our colleagues are in the same situation. On top of that, our rightful earnings were taken from us. We haven’t been paid our severance, our vacation pay, or our salaries. So we turned to our union for help.”

“There are four of us up here, and 12 more of our colleagues down below supporting us. Others have also come to show solidarity. We are here, and we are determined. We will not leave this crane until we get our money. No force can remove us from here unless we are paid.”

Months of unpaid wages

Kuzey Star Shipyard dismissed workers by claiming there was no more work available. However, the company had already failed to pay wages since December and has made new hirings since then, according to Aksakal.

“The claim that there’s no work is completely fabricated by the employers,” he said. “Whether there is work or not depends entirely on the subcontractor’s decision. For example, there is work inside the shipyard, but the subcontractor can automatically dismiss workers by claiming that the client hasn’t made a request. Over the past eight days of our protest, more than 500 new workers have been hired.”

“Unfortunately, no one seems to care about this. We work long hours under extremely difficult conditions,” he added. “We will not leave the shipyard until we receive what we are owed. My colleagues, our union, and I will stand our ground until we get our rights.”

Tuzla shipyards: A hub of labor violations

The dismissed workers are members of the Shipbuilding, Maritime Transportation, Warehousing, and Dockworkers Union (Limter-İş), affiliated with the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DİSK). Hakkı Demiral, general secretary of Limter-İş, highlighted the widespread labor rights violations in Tuzla’s shipyards, describing the area as a “lawless zone.”

“When people think of Tuzla’s shipyards, the first thing that comes to mind is the lack of regulations,” he said.

According to Demiral, 25,000 workers are employed in the area, with 24,000 of them working under subcontractors. “The real wages of 24,000 subcontracted workers are not properly declared for social security purposes. Their salaries are deliberately misreported under the watch of the government and labor inspectors."

“For instance, a worker earning 60,000 liras is officially recorded as earning only 20,000–22,000 liras, with social security contributions based on the lower amount. Part of the salary is deposited in the bank, while the rest is paid in cash. This system directly impacts workers’ severance pay, pensions, and other entitlements because compensation and retirement benefits are calculated based on declared wages.

“We are constantly fighting against this injustice, but the arbitrary practices of the subcontracting system have pushed workers to their limits."

'Authorities turn a blind eye'

Demiral also revealed that on the fourth day of their protest, workers received their official minimum-wage salaries via bank transfers. However, the remaining unpaid wages, which were previously given to them in cash, were only transferred on the seventh day from a different account.

He stated that union lawyers calculated the workers’ total dues and sent the figures to the company. However, the employer has refused to pay severance and notice compensations to prevent setting a precedent for other workers.

Claiming that the Labor Ministry is aware of these unlawful practices, Demiral said, “These payments made to workers' accounts are completely irregular. The money is disguised as ‘loan repayments’ or ‘cash advances’ when, in reality, it is their rightful salary. If the Ministry of Labor conducted a proper inspection and simply asked any worker on the street, ‘How much do you earn?’ they would get the truth. A worker would say, ‘I make 60,000 lira, but my social security is based on minimum wage.’

"This system is no secret. The government, the Labor Ministry, and the inspectors all see it, yet they turn a blind eye.”

Dsmissed workers labeled as 'resigned’

Limter-İş lawyer Önder Özgür said employers falsely report laid-off workers as having resigned in official records.

“In Turkey, it is the employer who submits the termination notice to the Social Security Institution (SGK). The worker has no say in it,” Özgür explained.

“The law gives employers a lot of freedom in this regard, so they can choose any termination code they want. However, if a worker files a lawsuit, this code can be changed. The same thing happened to the workers at Kuzey Star Shipyard. Even though none of them resigned, they were listed under ‘Code 03’, termination by the worker. This is a common practice in the shipyard industry.” (AD/VK)

Origin

Istanbul

all articles of the author

bianet muhabiri (Ağustos 2023). Atölye BİA 5-9 Ekim 2022 "Temel Gazetecilik Atölyesi" katılımcısı. Maltepe Üniversitesi Gazetecilik Bölümü'nü bitirdi. Aynı üniversitede, Siyaset Bilimi ve Uluslararası İlişkiler Bölümü'nde çift anadal yaptı. Halkevleri 12. Halkın Hakları Basın, Sanat ve Dayanışma Ödülleri sahibi.

‘We will get our due’: Dismissed workers protest in front of business association

İstanbul

İstanbul

'We are afraid of checking the bills'

What happened?

Workers' requests

Who owns Migros?

From resistance to victory: Migros workers' protest ends with folk dances

Resisting for their rights, Migros warehouse workers win

Migros admits dismissing resisting workers

Labor rights | 250 resisting workers dismissed from warehouse of Migros market chain

STRIKE ACTION

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335 citizens express support for Migros warehouse workers' resistance

From resistance to victory: Migros workers' protest ends with folk dances

Resisting for their rights, Migros warehouse workers win

Migros admits dismissing resisting workers

Labor rights | 250 resisting workers dismissed from warehouse of Migros market chain

STRIKE ACTION

Police storm Migros warehouse in İstanbul, detain over 150 workers

Turkish lira tumbles as İmamoğlu's detention shakes markets

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'A hub of labor violations': İstanbul shipyard workers climb crane protesting unpaid wages

Ali Dinç

Ali Dinç

Months of unpaid wages

Tuzla shipyards: A hub of labor violations

'Authorities turn a blind eye'

Dsmissed workers labeled as 'resigned’

Folk singer Volkan Konak dies on stage during Cyprus concert

İstanbul municipal official Mahir Polat returns to prison after angioplasty

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