Struggle in the trade union sector continues
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After there was no agreement reached in the negotiations on a collective agreement between the Aviation Workers Union ( Hava-Is ) and Turkish Airlines (THY), the ballot at the beginning of August ended with the decision on a strike. Despite the huge repression and threats, 57% out of 12.500 workers said "yes" to the strike. Among the demands of the workers have also been the equalization of the workers`wages and the improvement of the aircrew.
The THY brought special staff from abroad to yet break a possible strike and threatened to dismiss the workers or lock them out. As an answer to that, Hava-Is president Atilla Aycin said: "They will see, whatever they do, the workers will say yes to this strike!". This showed that the workers had been determined to follow this line from the beginning.
Despite all efforts to hinder them, the workers who said yes to the strike gave THY a lesson. It is obvious that the government must be among those forces who consider this as a political decision, as it interfered immediately being afraid of the workers` strike. The government launched a commission to prevent the strike and reach an agreement. However, the government was still not satisfied. To hinder a possible strike, it even deployed the trade union bureaucracy and asked Salih Kilic, president of the trade union Turk-Is , for help. At the last meeting of Hava-Is and THY on August 22, no agreement was reached again. While Hava-Is demanded an annually wage increase of 23.9%, THY suggested only 10%. It was not only the state that rushed to support THY but also the bourgeois media that tried to show the workers`demands as exaggerated and said that a possible strike would harm the country. By that, the media tried to weaken an important means of the workers`struggle.
On August 15, about 200 journalists, intellectuals, artists and representatives of democratic organisations gathered and saluted the decision of the workers to strike. At the press conference they said that they are supporting the Hava-Is union members and called on the government and THY to immediately stop the repression. They also stressed that the government's efforts to postpone the strike under the pretext of "national security" are nothing else than the violation of the union rights and of the will of the staff. At the conference it was also announced that a campaign was started to collect signatures and that there would be different actions in the future period.
After the poll, the workers being determined to strike were saluted by the trade unions DISK and Limter-Is in a written statement on August 10. Tekstil-Sen and Limter-Is also made a solidarity visit to the central office of Hava-Is on August 16.

Blackmailing with dismissal or lockout were not enough to break the will of the workers organised at Hava-Is. The approval to strike was a blow into the face of the government. The decision on the strike showed its effect and an agreement on the negotiations on a collective agreement was finally reached between Hava-Is and THY. In a statement Hava-Is made on August 28 at its central office, it announced that the period of negotiations on a collective agreement was over after THY A.O. and Teknik A.S. had signed the agreement and that the demands which had been the reason to strike were all accepted.

Other actions:
After the negotiations on collective bargaining got stuck, calls are getting louder for a strike. Under the pressure of the basis, trade unions are threatening more and more to start a strike. KESK 's call to the trade unions Kamu-Sen and Memur-Sen to realise a common strike and its actions for a collective agreement and the strike preparation of the Seafarers Union of Turkey and the petrochemical concern Petkim are on the agenda and make the government yet sit in a puddle of sweat.

Other strikes on the agenda are planned by TEKSIF in 20 of its factories and by the trade union Oz Iplik-Is at 22 of its work places. Therefore, more than 20.000 workers would go on strike. While the negotiations on a collective agreement between the trade union Haber-Is and Telekom have also not reached an agreement, the workers rejected to work on August 24.

Because of unsafe working conditions in Turkey and Northern Kurdistan, work accidents happen frequently and many workers lose their life. However, the workers continue to struggle against these "worker murders" and the usurpation of their rights.
The workers of the textile Factory Aksal located at the Istanbul quarter Esenyurt, who had been sacked and have not been paid their wages entitled to them, organised an action on August 20 supported by Tekstil-Sen.
The workers of transport company Akdeniz Selcuk at Ambarlar, Izmir, had been sacked because of their membership at the trade union TÜMTIS. When they started a resistance, they were brutally attacked and beaten by the police. 20 people, among them also trade unionists, were arrested and later temporarily released. The workers` resistance and their determined stance to struggle continue.

All this shows that the workers are determined to defend their rights.
The struggle that has been developed in the last few months based on the struggle for collective agreement in some working branches and the determined stance of the members of Hava-Is have given power to the workers. It is the duty of the other groups of the working class, the communists and revolutionaries to defend this struggle and lead it to victory.
 

 

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Struggle in the trade union sector continues
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After there was no agreement reached in the negotiations on a collective agreement between the Aviation Workers Union ( Hava-Is ) and Turkish Airlines (THY), the ballot at the beginning of August ended with the decision on a strike. Despite the huge repression and threats, 57% out of 12.500 workers said "yes" to the strike. Among the demands of the workers have also been the equalization of the workers`wages and the improvement of the aircrew.
The THY brought special staff from abroad to yet break a possible strike and threatened to dismiss the workers or lock them out. As an answer to that, Hava-Is president Atilla Aycin said: "They will see, whatever they do, the workers will say yes to this strike!". This showed that the workers had been determined to follow this line from the beginning.
Despite all efforts to hinder them, the workers who said yes to the strike gave THY a lesson. It is obvious that the government must be among those forces who consider this as a political decision, as it interfered immediately being afraid of the workers` strike. The government launched a commission to prevent the strike and reach an agreement. However, the government was still not satisfied. To hinder a possible strike, it even deployed the trade union bureaucracy and asked Salih Kilic, president of the trade union Turk-Is , for help. At the last meeting of Hava-Is and THY on August 22, no agreement was reached again. While Hava-Is demanded an annually wage increase of 23.9%, THY suggested only 10%. It was not only the state that rushed to support THY but also the bourgeois media that tried to show the workers`demands as exaggerated and said that a possible strike would harm the country. By that, the media tried to weaken an important means of the workers`struggle.
On August 15, about 200 journalists, intellectuals, artists and representatives of democratic organisations gathered and saluted the decision of the workers to strike. At the press conference they said that they are supporting the Hava-Is union members and called on the government and THY to immediately stop the repression. They also stressed that the government's efforts to postpone the strike under the pretext of "national security" are nothing else than the violation of the union rights and of the will of the staff. At the conference it was also announced that a campaign was started to collect signatures and that there would be different actions in the future period.
After the poll, the workers being determined to strike were saluted by the trade unions DISK and Limter-Is in a written statement on August 10. Tekstil-Sen and Limter-Is also made a solidarity visit to the central office of Hava-Is on August 16.

Blackmailing with dismissal or lockout were not enough to break the will of the workers organised at Hava-Is. The approval to strike was a blow into the face of the government. The decision on the strike showed its effect and an agreement on the negotiations on a collective agreement was finally reached between Hava-Is and THY. In a statement Hava-Is made on August 28 at its central office, it announced that the period of negotiations on a collective agreement was over after THY A.O. and Teknik A.S. had signed the agreement and that the demands which had been the reason to strike were all accepted.

Other actions:
After the negotiations on collective bargaining got stuck, calls are getting louder for a strike. Under the pressure of the basis, trade unions are threatening more and more to start a strike. KESK 's call to the trade unions Kamu-Sen and Memur-Sen to realise a common strike and its actions for a collective agreement and the strike preparation of the Seafarers Union of Turkey and the petrochemical concern Petkim are on the agenda and make the government yet sit in a puddle of sweat.

Other strikes on the agenda are planned by TEKSIF in 20 of its factories and by the trade union Oz Iplik-Is at 22 of its work places. Therefore, more than 20.000 workers would go on strike. While the negotiations on a collective agreement between the trade union Haber-Is and Telekom have also not reached an agreement, the workers rejected to work on August 24.

Because of unsafe working conditions in Turkey and Northern Kurdistan, work accidents happen frequently and many workers lose their life. However, the workers continue to struggle against these "worker murders" and the usurpation of their rights.
The workers of the textile Factory Aksal located at the Istanbul quarter Esenyurt, who had been sacked and have not been paid their wages entitled to them, organised an action on August 20 supported by Tekstil-Sen.
The workers of transport company Akdeniz Selcuk at Ambarlar, Izmir, had been sacked because of their membership at the trade union TÜMTIS. When they started a resistance, they were brutally attacked and beaten by the police. 20 people, among them also trade unionists, were arrested and later temporarily released. The workers` resistance and their determined stance to struggle continue.

All this shows that the workers are determined to defend their rights.
The struggle that has been developed in the last few months based on the struggle for collective agreement in some working branches and the determined stance of the members of Hava-Is have given power to the workers. It is the duty of the other groups of the working class, the communists and revolutionaries to defend this struggle and lead it to victory.