Conference of the textile workers
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The conference organised under the title "Let's unite, discuss our problems and find a solution" was realised to win the social, economical and democratic rights of the workers and to organise the textile workers more.

01 November 2008 / International Bulletin / No: 75

After its campaign, the union Tekstil-Sen organised a Textile Workers' Conference on October 26 at Istanbul. The conference was joined by many workers from different sectors such as clothing industry, knitting, weaving, embroidery, socks, jeans, colouring and hosiery from Adana, Corlu and many boroughs of Istanbul. The conference organised under the title "Let's unite, discuss our problems and find a solution" was realised to win the social, economical and democratic rights of the workers and to organise the textile workers more. At the conference different speeches were hold and solution proposals made on the topics workers' health, work safety, unemployment, chauvinism, women, means and forms of organisation.
The activists of Tekstil-Sen in Istanbul who had been preparing the conference for weeks had started with their work on September 13 with an action in front of Galatasaray High School. At the action the aim of the conference had been explained as the following: we will come together in order to strengthen the struggle against imperialist, capitalist, neo-liberal politics, coups, dirty wars and the AKP government." After the action the members of Tekstil-Sen had continued with their preparation work by forming committees and had gone to the workers and zones first of all in different boroughs of Istanbul, Izmir and Adana with leaflets and invitations, organised workers` meetings and called on them to join the conference. Throughout the campaign Tekstil-Sen had found out at which work places the workers are employed without any insurance and illegally and made a report on these work places. As a result of the questionnaire work with the workers and as the end of this campaign, Tekstil-Sen decided that there is a need for such a conference and started with the preparation work.
Besides the union Limter-Is , the Socialist Platform of the Oppressed ( ESP ) and the Labourer Officials affiliated to the ESP, the Association of the Workers` Union and Struggle as well as the cleaning workers of Capa and the leather workers of Corlu joined and supported the conference in Istanbul. A film on Tekstil-Sen`s history of struggle was also shown at the conference. General Secretary Beycan Taskiran called in her speech on the textile workers to unite themselves at the union. Tekstil-Sen General President Ayse Yumli Yeter talked about the financial crisis developing worldwide at the moment and the political crisis in Turkey stressing that the working class in Turkey is currently experiencing a difficult period and that it is tried to make the workers and labourers pay for this crisis.
In the speech titled "The textile workers and the women's question" it was said that in addition to problems such as assaults at the work place, female workers are employed with lower wages and it was emphasized that all workers, men and women, must struggle together against this problem. Concerning the future work of the union, amongst others the following proposals were made: the demand for March 8 to be officially a paid holiday, the foundation of nurseries and women's commissions as well as the foundation of associations for the workers who had become unemployed because of the crisis and whose number has risen to 200,000. The conference ended with the workers talking about their problems and proposals. Tekstil-Sen announced to organise a press meeting with the MPs in near future.
After the conference a final declaration was published in which it was declared that the conference had fulfilled the duty to be a place for productive discussions in order to make the will appear to solve the problems. In the final declaration it was also said that workers are employed for 14-15 hours a day without any insurance and work safety at small and midsize manufacturing factories not registered, that they are forced to do overtime and work until the morning, become sick as they work at an unhealthy work places where there are toxic agents, face occupational diseases because of work such as stoning jeans, get low wages, are observed at work through cameras, face psychological oppression, must use a cart system to go on the bathroom and if exceeded a few minutes, their wage is cut, and also face abuse and abasement by the bosses, foremen and managers.
Furthermore, it was explained that the bosses use the crisis to reject giving the workers their wages for 3-4 months, that the workers faced violence when they asked for their wages, that many work places and workers are not registered and controlled, that with the bosses` production concentrated, the policy is applied to produce a lot with less workers and that this leads to health and psychological problems of the workers, that in order to add profit to the profit of the textile bosses the bosses prefer foreign workers, pensioners, women and children workers for less than the minimum wage and without any insurance, that female workers face sexual discrimination and low wages, children workers must do all possible work and are punched and cursed whenever there is a small problem.
It was emphasized that the workers can't act together to fight against problems because of the production splitted and the lack of conscious in general, that they are alienated to each other, do not raise their voice because of their fear to get dismissed, stay away from organising themselves and become a member of the union, and that this problem is a general problem of the textile workers. The textile workers were called on to organise themselves at Textil-Sen and to unite their forces. Following the proposals made by the workers at the conference, many decisions were taken that were then written down in the final declaration.
There is not doubt that together with the campaign led in summer, the workers` conference organised by Tekstil-Sen has been one of the most effective means in order to enlighten the workers and to convey them class conscious. While it is still not yet clear what detailed effects the developing financial crisis will have on Turkey and Northern Kurdistan, we know that the number of the unemployed and those facing hunger is rising at every period of crisis, that prices go up and that all this is realised at the expenses of the workers and labourers. Prime Minister Erdogan can shout as much as he wants that "we will not bow in front of the IMF during this crisis", it is known that we are experiencing a period where the attacks on workers` rights are increasing and what must be done is organise ourselves and others more as the conference called on, too. In this sense, the conference by Textil-Sen has been a meaningful step towards this direction.

 
 

 

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Conference of the textile workers
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The conference organised under the title "Let's unite, discuss our problems and find a solution" was realised to win the social, economical and democratic rights of the workers and to organise the textile workers more.

01 November 2008 / International Bulletin / No: 75

After its campaign, the union Tekstil-Sen organised a Textile Workers' Conference on October 26 at Istanbul. The conference was joined by many workers from different sectors such as clothing industry, knitting, weaving, embroidery, socks, jeans, colouring and hosiery from Adana, Corlu and many boroughs of Istanbul. The conference organised under the title "Let's unite, discuss our problems and find a solution" was realised to win the social, economical and democratic rights of the workers and to organise the textile workers more. At the conference different speeches were hold and solution proposals made on the topics workers' health, work safety, unemployment, chauvinism, women, means and forms of organisation.
The activists of Tekstil-Sen in Istanbul who had been preparing the conference for weeks had started with their work on September 13 with an action in front of Galatasaray High School. At the action the aim of the conference had been explained as the following: we will come together in order to strengthen the struggle against imperialist, capitalist, neo-liberal politics, coups, dirty wars and the AKP government." After the action the members of Tekstil-Sen had continued with their preparation work by forming committees and had gone to the workers and zones first of all in different boroughs of Istanbul, Izmir and Adana with leaflets and invitations, organised workers` meetings and called on them to join the conference. Throughout the campaign Tekstil-Sen had found out at which work places the workers are employed without any insurance and illegally and made a report on these work places. As a result of the questionnaire work with the workers and as the end of this campaign, Tekstil-Sen decided that there is a need for such a conference and started with the preparation work.
Besides the union Limter-Is , the Socialist Platform of the Oppressed ( ESP ) and the Labourer Officials affiliated to the ESP, the Association of the Workers` Union and Struggle as well as the cleaning workers of Capa and the leather workers of Corlu joined and supported the conference in Istanbul. A film on Tekstil-Sen`s history of struggle was also shown at the conference. General Secretary Beycan Taskiran called in her speech on the textile workers to unite themselves at the union. Tekstil-Sen General President Ayse Yumli Yeter talked about the financial crisis developing worldwide at the moment and the political crisis in Turkey stressing that the working class in Turkey is currently experiencing a difficult period and that it is tried to make the workers and labourers pay for this crisis.
In the speech titled "The textile workers and the women's question" it was said that in addition to problems such as assaults at the work place, female workers are employed with lower wages and it was emphasized that all workers, men and women, must struggle together against this problem. Concerning the future work of the union, amongst others the following proposals were made: the demand for March 8 to be officially a paid holiday, the foundation of nurseries and women's commissions as well as the foundation of associations for the workers who had become unemployed because of the crisis and whose number has risen to 200,000. The conference ended with the workers talking about their problems and proposals. Tekstil-Sen announced to organise a press meeting with the MPs in near future.
After the conference a final declaration was published in which it was declared that the conference had fulfilled the duty to be a place for productive discussions in order to make the will appear to solve the problems. In the final declaration it was also said that workers are employed for 14-15 hours a day without any insurance and work safety at small and midsize manufacturing factories not registered, that they are forced to do overtime and work until the morning, become sick as they work at an unhealthy work places where there are toxic agents, face occupational diseases because of work such as stoning jeans, get low wages, are observed at work through cameras, face psychological oppression, must use a cart system to go on the bathroom and if exceeded a few minutes, their wage is cut, and also face abuse and abasement by the bosses, foremen and managers.
Furthermore, it was explained that the bosses use the crisis to reject giving the workers their wages for 3-4 months, that the workers faced violence when they asked for their wages, that many work places and workers are not registered and controlled, that with the bosses` production concentrated, the policy is applied to produce a lot with less workers and that this leads to health and psychological problems of the workers, that in order to add profit to the profit of the textile bosses the bosses prefer foreign workers, pensioners, women and children workers for less than the minimum wage and without any insurance, that female workers face sexual discrimination and low wages, children workers must do all possible work and are punched and cursed whenever there is a small problem.
It was emphasized that the workers can't act together to fight against problems because of the production splitted and the lack of conscious in general, that they are alienated to each other, do not raise their voice because of their fear to get dismissed, stay away from organising themselves and become a member of the union, and that this problem is a general problem of the textile workers. The textile workers were called on to organise themselves at Textil-Sen and to unite their forces. Following the proposals made by the workers at the conference, many decisions were taken that were then written down in the final declaration.
There is not doubt that together with the campaign led in summer, the workers` conference organised by Tekstil-Sen has been one of the most effective means in order to enlighten the workers and to convey them class conscious. While it is still not yet clear what detailed effects the developing financial crisis will have on Turkey and Northern Kurdistan, we know that the number of the unemployed and those facing hunger is rising at every period of crisis, that prices go up and that all this is realised at the expenses of the workers and labourers. Prime Minister Erdogan can shout as much as he wants that "we will not bow in front of the IMF during this crisis", it is known that we are experiencing a period where the attacks on workers` rights are increasing and what must be done is organise ourselves and others more as the conference called on, too. In this sense, the conference by Textil-Sen has been a meaningful step towards this direction.