Tobacco workers go on strike in western Turkey

Duvar English

Hundreds of workers at three separate tobacco factories in İzmir on March 3 went on strike. Workers at Sunel Tobacco, Oriental Tobacco, and T.T.L. Tobacco, organized under the Tekgıda-İş Union, halted production.

After 600 workers at Sunel Tobacco and 800 workers at Oriental Tobacco began striking, 300 more tobacco workers at T.T.L. Tobacco joined the strike. The union decided to strike after collective bargaining negotiations at all three factories failed to reach an agreement.

Tekgıda-İş İzmir No. 7 Branch President Ömer Atabey said there were separate negotiations, but the three factories acted together, speaking to the daily BirGün.

"They keep telling us, ‘If the collective agreement is settled at one, it will be settled at all.’ We responded, ‘If you employers have united, then we workers at the three factories have united too.’ We put this decision into action for the benefit of our members, and we will continue our struggle until we receive the wages and social rights we demand," he said.

Atabey said employers did not consider going beyond inflation. "They are trying to stall us by offering only a two or four percent welfare increase above inflation. The three employers are acting together and trying to impose terms on us. We responded to this with worker solidarity. We decided to strike at the start of the second sixty-day period, without waiting for the end. That’s because there is a huge gap between our demands and their offers. They are not objective, they are not realistic," he said.

Atabey also said employers paid subcontractors up to 2,000 liras ($55). "But they are unwilling to offer similar wages to their own workers. This was one of the biggest breaking points for the workers. The employers are not objective or realistic," he said.