The petrochemical company PETKIM, that was decided to be privatized in 2003, was put out for bid for a third time on July 5 and finally 51% of its shares sold for 2,50 billlion dollars to the Trans Central Asia Petrochemical Holding Common Initiative Group. The workers of the refinery Aliaga at Izmir have tried for a long time to hinder the sale of PETKIM by organising different actions. On June 29, they went to strike to stop the sale. On July 5, the workers, who continued to stop working their day shifts during the whole week, gathered with their families next to the Swiss Hotel at Ankara, where the bid was taking place. The workers protested against the AKP (Party for Justice and Development) government and its privatisation policy and declared not to vote for the parties supporting privatisation at the early elections on July 22.
In the statement made by the president of the trade union Petrol-Is Mustafa Oztaskin after the bid was over, he said that the struggle will continue: "First of all, we will try to hinder the hand over. We will not let PETKIM be handed over."
As 24% of its shares had been sold before, PETKIM has meanwhile lost 75% of its shares to foreign capital.