Resisting for their rights, Migros warehouse workers win

* Photo: DGD-SEN

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

Dismissed for demanding a 4-lira hourly wage increase, the workers of Migros warehouse have won their struggle.

Resisting for 17 days and faced with police interventions and detentions, the workers have made the employer accept their demands.

Amid the calls for boycotting Migros, one of the biggest supermarket chains in Turkey, and public backlash against employer Tuncay Özilhan, the workers' requests for pay rise have been accepted and 257 dismissed workers have been reinstated in their jobs.

The news has been shared with the public on social media by the Warehouse, Port, Dock and Maritime Workers Union (DGD-SEN). Sharing a message on its Twitter account under the hashtag "Migros Worker has Won", the union has announced that an agreement has been reached with the employer regarding the wage increase and payment of premiums.

In its statement, the union has indicated that the details of the agreement regarding the wage increase, payment of premiums, reinstatement of all dismissed workers and elimination of problems concerning labor health and safety will be shared with the public later.

#MigrosİşçisiKazandı | Bu direnişin kazananı birliğine ve haklılığına inanmış Migros Esenyurt depo işçileri ve her türlü yaratıcı dayanışmayı sergileyen halkımız ve dostlarımızdır.

Direnenlerin yolundan yürü!
Tahir'in, Ali Faik'in yolundan... pic.twitter.com/NVgXWH2y6e

— DGD-SEN (@DGDSEN) February 20, 2022

* Detained in front of the house of employer Tuncay Özilhan on February 18 and wiping his eyes in the detention vehicle, Migros worker Gülabi Aksu's images sparked harsh criticisms on social media.

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 wanted to hold a press statement in front of the house of Tuncay Özilhan, the Executive Board Chair of Migros, on February 18, 2022; however, they were taken into custody by the police again.

In a statement a day later, Minister of Labor and Social Security Vedat Bilgin announced that the Ministry launched an inquiry about the complaints of Migros workers. Sharing no further details, the Minister said that the Ministry "would not turn a blind eye to workers' aggrievement."

The DGD-SEN union announced that they would once again protest in front of the house of Tuncay Özilhan today (February 21).

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

(RT/SD)