The Resistance in Desan and Its' Teachings
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On the 24th of May 2006, 55 workers from the Montesar company, affiliated with Desan Shipyard in Istanbul-Tuzla, have begun a resistance under the leadership of Limter-Is , organised among the shipyard workers, demanding full payment of their unpaid wages. The workers who gathered in front of the shipyard have started their resistance after opening a banner writing "Victory is going to be the resister workers / Limter-Is". "We have carried out many resistances in many shipyards due to the non-payment of wages and insurances of our worker friends. Every month we have lost one of our friends because of the unsecured working conditions. Why? They are imposing on us the slavery for the sake of the shipyard bosses' ambition for profit" said the president of Limter-Is, Cem Dinc in his press statement made just before the resistance. It is the non-payment of workers' wages for about 2.5 months which led them to start resistance. But the latter developments have showed that the problem is not only about the non-payment of wages. The commitment and militant stance of workers have shown -only right at the beginning- the resistance could represent a spark in the struggle and repulsing of the neo-liberal attacks.
This is why the state and bosses immediately understood the importance of the resistance that begun in a small company. This is why the resister workers have come face to face with many-sided repression, imprisonment and use of force by the police. They wanted to break the resistance, put in silence the resister workers and ineffective Limter-Is Union that is leading the resistance. But there was a contrary development. The resister workers have continued with their struggle through gradually growing support. "Desan workers are resisting for all of us" become the slogan of many people. The resistance in Desan have spread into the other subcontracting firms in the industrial area. Workers in Firat Denizcilik and Yakamoz -both of them are affiliated with Desan- have organised work stoppage actions. 500 workers in Tuzla Shipyards have supported the action by stopping the production and blocking the traffic. Moreover, various unions, mass organisations and political parties have put strength to the resistance through their statements and actions.
The workers occupied the workplace. On the 7th of June, the police, waiting in front of the shipyard during occupation, took 7 people under custody, including the president of Limter-Is, Cem Dinc. On the 11th of June, the president of Limter-Is, Cem Dinc, and the expert of education, Kamber Saygili, have been imprisoned by the court under the pretext of "resisting to the police". The struggle, however, for the release of the people who are taken under police custody have also become a part of the resistance. DISK General Secretary, Musa Cam, Tekstil-Sen Headquarters, Management Committee Dev Saglik-Is Union, Management Committee of Petrol-Is Union, President of Nakliyat-Is , Ali RIza Kucukosmanoglu, Representative of NO3 Branch of Genel-Is Union, Veysel Demir, Tuzla Branch of Deri-Is , Association of Labourer Women, Socialist Platform of the Oppressed and Representatives from People's Houses have condemned the imprisonment of Cem Dinc and Kamber Saygili through their statements and actions organised on the 12th of June. On 13 June, different democratic mass organisations, political parties and platforms protested the imprisonment of Cem Dinc and Kamber Saygili by organising a press conference in front of the Galatasaray High School. On 21 June, the shipyard workers, who are the members of Limter-Is Union, started hunger strike for indefinite period in the union's central office for the release of the imprisoned unionists. The Tekstil-Sen and public service labourers from ESP are supporting the hunger strike by joining in.

Teachings of the Desan resistance:
-As the actions have shown, the Desan resistance have become an example of the calss solidarity that gives hope and contributed to the development of consciousness of being a class among the workers.
-Through the resistance, the workers have once more seen which forces are standing behind the bosses: The state that stands against the workers by their armed forces and laws. The resister workers, the workers who are supporting the resistance and the public opinion those who are observing the resistance have seen that the attack against the resistance which was started because of wages question, in fact, is an attack to put people in silence and slavery. The workers have once more seen that securing of the achieved-rights and struggle for new rights depends on the struggle of the class in the political sphere and on the achievement which shall be gained in this sphere.
-The state and bosses feared from the Desan resistance to be a spark and from its expanding into other areas as an experiment. This is the reason of the brutal attack against the resistance of 55 workers that appeared because of the unpaid wages question; leading of the police terror in order to break the resistance by the chief police officer of the town, giving of the imprisonment order against the unionists by head official of Tuzla town and joint movement of the shipyard bosses in order to end the action without any achievements.
-The Desan resistance have once more proved that the struggle for economic rights cannot be dealt without the political struggle; the struggle for economic rights must be merged with the struggle against the system. This why the resistance of Desan workers is showing the way: The bosses and state, together with its police and laws, acted in full collaboration in order to break the resistance. The resister workers and leading unionists have many times suffered from the police attack and taken under custody. But, despite everything, they did not take a step back and continued with their actions in commitment. They stopped the production, blocked the traffic and occupied the workplace. Through these actions, they have encouraged and shown the way both to the workers in the industrial area and to the working class of Turkey in general.
-The Desan resistance, at the same time, have shown how the revolutionary class unionism shall be conducted. As the resistance have shown, being a revolutionary union means to get organised by combating with all difficulties. Being a revolutionary union means to see the legitimacy within the practical struggle but not from the laws. The Desan resistance have showed that organising the workers, in general, and especially the uninsured workers in the industrial area is not possible with the frames of routine work that determined by the laws, what is to be done is the de facto struggle. The Desan resistance have proved that Limter-Is is a union as such. The proportion of unionised workers in our country is quite low (only 5% of workers are organised in the unions). As well as the repression and difficulties that putted before the unions, not-understanding the importance of unionised struggle and distrusts in the union because of their practices is also playing very important role in the appearance of such situation, low numbered unionised workers. Through Desan resistance, Limter-Is have made meaningful contribution in this sphere, it led workers to have self-trust and gave consciousness of that organising can only be within the struggle. Limter-Is have become an example showing how the wall of disorganisation, defeatism and surrendering set up by the capitalists and state could be destroyed also in the sphere of unions.
-Not only this resistance, the total struggle of the Limter-Is in the Tuzla Shipyards have shown the fact that organisation of the workers in single workplaces is very quickly put in ineffectiveness by the bosses, what is to be done, therefore, is to act in a perspective of an organisation that involves whole industrial area.
-The resistance continuing under the leadership of Limter-Is is also representing a struggle against the ongoing neo-liberal attacks under the conditions of imperialist globalisation; attacks of deregulation, disorganisation and flexible work. It is, therefore, a part of the international working class struggle. This is why the solidarity with the imprisoned revolutionary unionists is an internationalist task of the working class organisations, revolutionary and communist organisations.
MLCP calls on all workers and labourers, revolutionary and communist parties and organisations, unions to be in solidarity with the two brave unionists those who have been put in jail by the Turkish state.

 

Please send protest faxes to:
Minister of Labour and Social Security, Murat Basesgioglu
E-Mail: mb@basesgioglu.org
Tel.: 0090 312 296 60 00
Minister of the Interior, Abdulkadir Aksu
E-Mail: aaksu@icisleri.gov.tr
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan
E-Mail: bimer@basbakanlik.gov.tr

Please send solidarity messages for the unionists to Cem DINC
H Tipi CEZAEVI,
KARTAL/ISTANBUL, TURKEY
 

 

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The Resistance in Desan and Its' Teachings
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On the 24th of May 2006, 55 workers from the Montesar company, affiliated with Desan Shipyard in Istanbul-Tuzla, have begun a resistance under the leadership of Limter-Is , organised among the shipyard workers, demanding full payment of their unpaid wages. The workers who gathered in front of the shipyard have started their resistance after opening a banner writing "Victory is going to be the resister workers / Limter-Is". "We have carried out many resistances in many shipyards due to the non-payment of wages and insurances of our worker friends. Every month we have lost one of our friends because of the unsecured working conditions. Why? They are imposing on us the slavery for the sake of the shipyard bosses' ambition for profit" said the president of Limter-Is, Cem Dinc in his press statement made just before the resistance. It is the non-payment of workers' wages for about 2.5 months which led them to start resistance. But the latter developments have showed that the problem is not only about the non-payment of wages. The commitment and militant stance of workers have shown -only right at the beginning- the resistance could represent a spark in the struggle and repulsing of the neo-liberal attacks.
This is why the state and bosses immediately understood the importance of the resistance that begun in a small company. This is why the resister workers have come face to face with many-sided repression, imprisonment and use of force by the police. They wanted to break the resistance, put in silence the resister workers and ineffective Limter-Is Union that is leading the resistance. But there was a contrary development. The resister workers have continued with their struggle through gradually growing support. "Desan workers are resisting for all of us" become the slogan of many people. The resistance in Desan have spread into the other subcontracting firms in the industrial area. Workers in Firat Denizcilik and Yakamoz -both of them are affiliated with Desan- have organised work stoppage actions. 500 workers in Tuzla Shipyards have supported the action by stopping the production and blocking the traffic. Moreover, various unions, mass organisations and political parties have put strength to the resistance through their statements and actions.
The workers occupied the workplace. On the 7th of June, the police, waiting in front of the shipyard during occupation, took 7 people under custody, including the president of Limter-Is, Cem Dinc. On the 11th of June, the president of Limter-Is, Cem Dinc, and the expert of education, Kamber Saygili, have been imprisoned by the court under the pretext of "resisting to the police". The struggle, however, for the release of the people who are taken under police custody have also become a part of the resistance. DISK General Secretary, Musa Cam, Tekstil-Sen Headquarters, Management Committee Dev Saglik-Is Union, Management Committee of Petrol-Is Union, President of Nakliyat-Is , Ali RIza Kucukosmanoglu, Representative of NO3 Branch of Genel-Is Union, Veysel Demir, Tuzla Branch of Deri-Is , Association of Labourer Women, Socialist Platform of the Oppressed and Representatives from People's Houses have condemned the imprisonment of Cem Dinc and Kamber Saygili through their statements and actions organised on the 12th of June. On 13 June, different democratic mass organisations, political parties and platforms protested the imprisonment of Cem Dinc and Kamber Saygili by organising a press conference in front of the Galatasaray High School. On 21 June, the shipyard workers, who are the members of Limter-Is Union, started hunger strike for indefinite period in the union's central office for the release of the imprisoned unionists. The Tekstil-Sen and public service labourers from ESP are supporting the hunger strike by joining in.

Teachings of the Desan resistance:
-As the actions have shown, the Desan resistance have become an example of the calss solidarity that gives hope and contributed to the development of consciousness of being a class among the workers.
-Through the resistance, the workers have once more seen which forces are standing behind the bosses: The state that stands against the workers by their armed forces and laws. The resister workers, the workers who are supporting the resistance and the public opinion those who are observing the resistance have seen that the attack against the resistance which was started because of wages question, in fact, is an attack to put people in silence and slavery. The workers have once more seen that securing of the achieved-rights and struggle for new rights depends on the struggle of the class in the political sphere and on the achievement which shall be gained in this sphere.
-The state and bosses feared from the Desan resistance to be a spark and from its expanding into other areas as an experiment. This is the reason of the brutal attack against the resistance of 55 workers that appeared because of the unpaid wages question; leading of the police terror in order to break the resistance by the chief police officer of the town, giving of the imprisonment order against the unionists by head official of Tuzla town and joint movement of the shipyard bosses in order to end the action without any achievements.
-The Desan resistance have once more proved that the struggle for economic rights cannot be dealt without the political struggle; the struggle for economic rights must be merged with the struggle against the system. This why the resistance of Desan workers is showing the way: The bosses and state, together with its police and laws, acted in full collaboration in order to break the resistance. The resister workers and leading unionists have many times suffered from the police attack and taken under custody. But, despite everything, they did not take a step back and continued with their actions in commitment. They stopped the production, blocked the traffic and occupied the workplace. Through these actions, they have encouraged and shown the way both to the workers in the industrial area and to the working class of Turkey in general.
-The Desan resistance, at the same time, have shown how the revolutionary class unionism shall be conducted. As the resistance have shown, being a revolutionary union means to get organised by combating with all difficulties. Being a revolutionary union means to see the legitimacy within the practical struggle but not from the laws. The Desan resistance have showed that organising the workers, in general, and especially the uninsured workers in the industrial area is not possible with the frames of routine work that determined by the laws, what is to be done is the de facto struggle. The Desan resistance have proved that Limter-Is is a union as such. The proportion of unionised workers in our country is quite low (only 5% of workers are organised in the unions). As well as the repression and difficulties that putted before the unions, not-understanding the importance of unionised struggle and distrusts in the union because of their practices is also playing very important role in the appearance of such situation, low numbered unionised workers. Through Desan resistance, Limter-Is have made meaningful contribution in this sphere, it led workers to have self-trust and gave consciousness of that organising can only be within the struggle. Limter-Is have become an example showing how the wall of disorganisation, defeatism and surrendering set up by the capitalists and state could be destroyed also in the sphere of unions.
-Not only this resistance, the total struggle of the Limter-Is in the Tuzla Shipyards have shown the fact that organisation of the workers in single workplaces is very quickly put in ineffectiveness by the bosses, what is to be done, therefore, is to act in a perspective of an organisation that involves whole industrial area.
-The resistance continuing under the leadership of Limter-Is is also representing a struggle against the ongoing neo-liberal attacks under the conditions of imperialist globalisation; attacks of deregulation, disorganisation and flexible work. It is, therefore, a part of the international working class struggle. This is why the solidarity with the imprisoned revolutionary unionists is an internationalist task of the working class organisations, revolutionary and communist organisations.
MLCP calls on all workers and labourers, revolutionary and communist parties and organisations, unions to be in solidarity with the two brave unionists those who have been put in jail by the Turkish state.

 

Please send protest faxes to:
Minister of Labour and Social Security, Murat Basesgioglu
E-Mail: mb@basesgioglu.org
Tel.: 0090 312 296 60 00
Minister of the Interior, Abdulkadir Aksu
E-Mail: aaksu@icisleri.gov.tr
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan
E-Mail: bimer@basbakanlik.gov.tr

Please send solidarity messages for the unionists to Cem DINC
H Tipi CEZAEVI,
KARTAL/ISTANBUL, TURKEY