The actions on May 26, which was decided as a general action day by four trade union confederations, KESK , DISK , Kamu-Sen and Turk-Is three months ago, were quite weak due to the attitude of the confederations that showed their line of betrayal once more by renouncing the decision of action. The only confederation that followed the decision was KESK, while the strong aspect of May 26 was the actions in many cities carried out despite the attitude of the yellow trade unions. {divide}
May 26 has been another hint point for the trend of breaking off by the workers' movement with the class consensus line of the trade unions; the trend that accelerated in the process of TEKEL resistance.
A few days before the actions of May 26, a group formed by TEKEL workers, Esenyurt workers and firemen that continue their resistances occupied the building of Turk-Is in Istanbul and showed that they will not let the trade union lords in peace. This action was followed by the occupation of the building of Turk-Is in Izmir and by the actions in Samsun, Adana and Diyarbakir. As a preparation for May 26, the workers started hunger strikes in the buildings that they took. After that, the Istanbul branches of the trade unions affiliated to Turk-Is stated that they will be on action on May 26 despite the decision of the confederation.
On May 26, workers and public employees stopped work and took to the streets in Nigde, Mersin, Antakya, Aydin, Afyon, Zonguldak, Amasya and many other cities, though being limited. In Kurdish cities such as Diyarbakır, Batman, Dersim, Malatya, Urfa and Antep, public employees affiliated to KESK and progressive, revolutionary and Kurdish patriotic forces took to the streets. The miners of Zonguldak gathered in front of the Karadon mine that has been a grave for 30 miners and stopped work. The boss of Turk-Is Mustafa Kumlu who betrayed the working class once more on May 26 made a speech there.
The pretext of the decision of general action on May 26 included 12 points consisting of the basic demands of the working class and the labourers, first of all the demands against flexible work and outsourcing. Of course, none of these demands were met in the period after the decision. Moreover, the mine disaster in Zonguldak that happened just one week before the May 26 actions had made it even more urgent and compulsory to organise the general actions on May Day that could give a leap forward to the struggle against the anti-labour policies and to take the so called labour "accidents" on behalf of the mine workers of Zonguldak as one of the central issues of the actions. However, the yellow trade unions did not fulfil the decision of general action.
The actions of May 26 showed very openly the line of betrayal of the yellow unions; the line which was already denounced in the process of TEKEL resistance in the example of Turk-Is.