Resistance and actions at class front
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The weakest point of these resistances is their development under lack of inter-connection with each other, of being scattered and without coordination. The primary responsible of this situation is the unions' being elements within the system, their position for class-consolidation and not having the ability to act in accordance with their tasks. Therefore the need for a unionist intervention in accordance with class unionism imposes itself to organise working class.

 

01 June 2011 /International Bulletin/ Issue 105

 

Workers' actions and resistances lasted with vitality in Turkey and North Kurdistan for the past month. The followings are some of the actions which were vivid, moving, carrying a strong potential and dynamism:
• Bekaert factory workers in Kocaeli have organised resistance by closing themselves to factory on 4 May. Their demands were rotation of the 9 workers who participated in actions that developed in the metal sector in recent months. Resistance of 400 workers is successfully completed after 14 days. After the negotiations with boss, 3 of the workers do return to work again and the remaining 5 workers are given notice and employee severance indemnities and additionally decided to be paid 45 thousand lira on 17 May.

• Railway workers launched a march to Ankara from 6 cities (Edirne, Samsun, Izmir, Kars, Diyarbakir, and Gazi antep) on 6 May. BTS (United Transport Workers Union) workers demand was the staffing and inequalities at TCDD (Turkish Republic Railways). Workers met in Ankara and started sit-in action and after acceptance of majority of their 33 demands on 17 May they ended their action.

• The workers who are members of Energy-Union start to sit-in action in front of BEDAS in Taksim in Istanbul against subcontracting.

• 120 factory workers of Mas-DAF which is in 1 Organized Industrial Zone in Duzce Beykoy, continue to rebel in front of Mas-Daf head office in Atasehir. The memebers of United Metal Work Trade Union are fired and they are struggling to return to their work. On May 10, 20 workers have launched a 10 day long march from Duzce to Istanbul on behalf of all workers. Workers met in front of the United Metal Work head office on 19 May and met in front of MAS-DAF head office on 20 May in Istanbul.

• Batigul Tunc who was an employee for a subcontractor and was dismissed by CHP (Republican people's Party) municipality because of being a member of workers union. Batigul started resistance in Izmir and wanted to continue with her resistance in Ankara in front of the CHP building. Batigul and her progressive and revolutionary supporters were attacked by police and 15 of supporters were detained and one person was arrested.

• The assistant doctors from Cukurova University Hospital have lead the action with the support of SES (UNION of Health Workers), Revolutionary Health Work, Adana Medical Room on 16 May, demanding to improve the working conditions of hospital administration. The action resulted in gains in form of acceptance on 24 May.

• The workers of Casper Computer firm closed TEM highway to traffic on 10 May on the 78th day of resistance with the placards "We are unionized and were fired" and "we want our jobs back". After dismissal of 10 unionised workers, 200 workers had to resist.

• Unemployed subcontractor PTT (Post, Telephone and Telegraph) workers whose contract are not renewed and ONTEX workers who are fired because of being unionized continue their struggle by closing traffic on Bogazici Bridge on 13 May. Dismissed and discarded post office workers had started to set up tents in front of the Mail Processing Centre at European side in Istanbul in early January. The ONTEX factory workers who are fired on 17 February continue to struggle and organise actions in front of the tent in Taksim every Saturday night.

• We should also include in the tabloid the 1st May celebrations of this year which was full of enthusiasm, massive and widespread, and the use of podium by resisting workers rather than the union bureaucrats first time in many years.

There is no doubt that these actions and resistances are the reflection of the working class struggle against capital's attempts to make workers and labourers to pay for the crisis. These resistances show variation in accordance with the cities and towns that they have been organised, the form of actions, the number of attendance, the length, the sector and etc. From road blockades to occupation of workplaces, from strikes to long marches between cities, many forms of actions are applied.
Concentrating on the Gebze-Kocaeli line, the resistances continue in many places from big cities such as Istanbul and Izmir to countryside. There are actions in many sectors from metal sector to railways, garment industry to local authorities, health to post offices. There are many resistances organised by single workers such as Batigul Tunc in Buca local authority of Izmir and by workers up to 400 occupying the workplace.
Most of these resistances are long-lasting resistances which spread into months. As well as not loosing anything from their determinacy, they also become model and courage to other workplaces. The resistances usually happen under the demand of returning back to work following sackings because of being unionized or cover problems of job security and work conditions due to outsourcing. This is why it can be said that the movement is developing against neoliberal attacks that can be summarised as outsourcing, flexibility and attacks on unionization. These resistances, which bear either no or weak political character or direction, play a role in politicisation of workers if they would be long-lasting especially.
The other important element is that the huge section of these workers from young generation. Although these young workers are disadvantaged because of lack of experience, at the same time, they bear the advantage of not carrying the defeatist psychology of post-1980 coup workers generation.
The weakest point of these resistances is their development under lack of inter-connection with each other, of being scattered and without coordination. The primary responsible of this situation is the unions' being elements within the system, their position for class-consolidation and not having the ability to act in accordance with their tasks. Therefore the need for a unionist intervention in accordance with class unionism imposes itself to organise working class.

 

 

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Resistance and actions at class front
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The weakest point of these resistances is their development under lack of inter-connection with each other, of being scattered and without coordination. The primary responsible of this situation is the unions' being elements within the system, their position for class-consolidation and not having the ability to act in accordance with their tasks. Therefore the need for a unionist intervention in accordance with class unionism imposes itself to organise working class.

 

01 June 2011 /International Bulletin/ Issue 105

 

Workers' actions and resistances lasted with vitality in Turkey and North Kurdistan for the past month. The followings are some of the actions which were vivid, moving, carrying a strong potential and dynamism:
• Bekaert factory workers in Kocaeli have organised resistance by closing themselves to factory on 4 May. Their demands were rotation of the 9 workers who participated in actions that developed in the metal sector in recent months. Resistance of 400 workers is successfully completed after 14 days. After the negotiations with boss, 3 of the workers do return to work again and the remaining 5 workers are given notice and employee severance indemnities and additionally decided to be paid 45 thousand lira on 17 May.

• Railway workers launched a march to Ankara from 6 cities (Edirne, Samsun, Izmir, Kars, Diyarbakir, and Gazi antep) on 6 May. BTS (United Transport Workers Union) workers demand was the staffing and inequalities at TCDD (Turkish Republic Railways). Workers met in Ankara and started sit-in action and after acceptance of majority of their 33 demands on 17 May they ended their action.

• The workers who are members of Energy-Union start to sit-in action in front of BEDAS in Taksim in Istanbul against subcontracting.

• 120 factory workers of Mas-DAF which is in 1 Organized Industrial Zone in Duzce Beykoy, continue to rebel in front of Mas-Daf head office in Atasehir. The memebers of United Metal Work Trade Union are fired and they are struggling to return to their work. On May 10, 20 workers have launched a 10 day long march from Duzce to Istanbul on behalf of all workers. Workers met in front of the United Metal Work head office on 19 May and met in front of MAS-DAF head office on 20 May in Istanbul.

• Batigul Tunc who was an employee for a subcontractor and was dismissed by CHP (Republican people's Party) municipality because of being a member of workers union. Batigul started resistance in Izmir and wanted to continue with her resistance in Ankara in front of the CHP building. Batigul and her progressive and revolutionary supporters were attacked by police and 15 of supporters were detained and one person was arrested.

• The assistant doctors from Cukurova University Hospital have lead the action with the support of SES (UNION of Health Workers), Revolutionary Health Work, Adana Medical Room on 16 May, demanding to improve the working conditions of hospital administration. The action resulted in gains in form of acceptance on 24 May.

• The workers of Casper Computer firm closed TEM highway to traffic on 10 May on the 78th day of resistance with the placards "We are unionized and were fired" and "we want our jobs back". After dismissal of 10 unionised workers, 200 workers had to resist.

• Unemployed subcontractor PTT (Post, Telephone and Telegraph) workers whose contract are not renewed and ONTEX workers who are fired because of being unionized continue their struggle by closing traffic on Bogazici Bridge on 13 May. Dismissed and discarded post office workers had started to set up tents in front of the Mail Processing Centre at European side in Istanbul in early January. The ONTEX factory workers who are fired on 17 February continue to struggle and organise actions in front of the tent in Taksim every Saturday night.

• We should also include in the tabloid the 1st May celebrations of this year which was full of enthusiasm, massive and widespread, and the use of podium by resisting workers rather than the union bureaucrats first time in many years.

There is no doubt that these actions and resistances are the reflection of the working class struggle against capital's attempts to make workers and labourers to pay for the crisis. These resistances show variation in accordance with the cities and towns that they have been organised, the form of actions, the number of attendance, the length, the sector and etc. From road blockades to occupation of workplaces, from strikes to long marches between cities, many forms of actions are applied.
Concentrating on the Gebze-Kocaeli line, the resistances continue in many places from big cities such as Istanbul and Izmir to countryside. There are actions in many sectors from metal sector to railways, garment industry to local authorities, health to post offices. There are many resistances organised by single workers such as Batigul Tunc in Buca local authority of Izmir and by workers up to 400 occupying the workplace.
Most of these resistances are long-lasting resistances which spread into months. As well as not loosing anything from their determinacy, they also become model and courage to other workplaces. The resistances usually happen under the demand of returning back to work following sackings because of being unionized or cover problems of job security and work conditions due to outsourcing. This is why it can be said that the movement is developing against neoliberal attacks that can be summarised as outsourcing, flexibility and attacks on unionization. These resistances, which bear either no or weak political character or direction, play a role in politicisation of workers if they would be long-lasting especially.
The other important element is that the huge section of these workers from young generation. Although these young workers are disadvantaged because of lack of experience, at the same time, they bear the advantage of not carrying the defeatist psychology of post-1980 coup workers generation.
The weakest point of these resistances is their development under lack of inter-connection with each other, of being scattered and without coordination. The primary responsible of this situation is the unions' being elements within the system, their position for class-consolidation and not having the ability to act in accordance with their tasks. Therefore the need for a unionist intervention in accordance with class unionism imposes itself to organise working class.