320 workers who work at the IGSAS (Istanbul Manure Industry Corporation) factory occupied the factory on 15 December which was the day that the factory was decided to be closed down by the factory owners. After being privatised, IGSAS was decided to be closed down with the pretext that it does not make profit. IGSAS is in the district Korfez of Kocaeli and it is the only factory that produces urea in Turkey and N. Kurdistan.
The workers also stopped the entering in and access from the factory. They did not let the trucks in the IGSAS port while they did not let Fehmi Yildiz, owner of the factory, to leave the factory. The main demand of the workers was that the layoff of 217 workers should stop and the factory should begin production again.
The workers have been continuing the occupation for four days. On 18 December in the evening, they organised an action, at which 500 workers participated and the workers of TUPRAS and GUBRETAS also gave support. Mustafa Oztaskin, General President of the union Petrol-Is made a speech here, demanding the cancellation of the decision of closing down the factory and support for the manure sector. He said: "The closing down of IGSAS does not only interest the 217 workers who will loose their jobs, but it also interests the 600 branches of the factory and 3 million farmers."
The workers raised the slogan "Resignation of the government, servant of IMF" and expressed that they will resist in the mechanical section of the factory as far as they can, if the police enters in the factory.