Workers of İzmir City Hospital protest unpaid wages in construction site

Fatma Keber / Gazete Duvar

Workers of İzmir City Hospital once again protested unpaid wages and bad working conditions in the construction site.

More than 600 workers working for Elektromak Mühendislik and Alperdem companies, whose wages have not been paid for two months, protested after they ate the same food for two days in the cafeteria.

Previously, some workers were hospitalized due to insects and poor housing conditions, and they once again protested unpaid wages. Although the wages were partially paid after the protest of the workers, they have not been receiving money for two months again.

One worker who has been working in the construction said, "There have been problems with these companies before due to unpaid wages. Now they don't pay us, on top of that we have been eating the same food for two days."

The Construction Workers Union (İYİ-SEN) head Hasan Kırlangıç said the protest started because of unpaid salaries and bad food. "It started suddenly. According to what we learned; some workers received their wages for May last week."

"We have friends who have not received their wages for two months. The food is bad, they fix it once in a while, then it's the same again. Workers who want good food here don't say 'give us meat every day.' They want a decent meal worthy of human dignity," he added.

The construction of the hospital started in 2013 in İzmir's Bayraklı district.

City hospitals are built by private companies on public land, and then rented to the Health Ministry for a period of 25 years. The company gaining the tender for the hospital project can build shopping centers, parking garages, hotels, and other facilities nearby. These facilities are run like companies, while all of the expenditures of the hospitals are covered by the Ministry of Health.

(English version by Alperen Şen)