Dismissals, price increases and fights…
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01 January 2009 /International Bulletin / Issue 77  

During the period when the effects of the economic crisis could be felt, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan was saying "the crisis won't affect us". However, the bill of the crisis was yet started to be made paid by the workers and labourers. The bosses have taken the crisis as an excuse and have started to dismiss their workers, and the government constantly increased the prices to make the workers and labourers pay the bill.
According to the bosses organisation GIS-BIR's statement, 13,300 workers were dismissed for reasons of the crisis only within one month at the shipyards zone of Tuzla where subcontracting work, flexible work and the employment without any right of being a member of a union and having an insurance is widely applied, and the dismissals are continuing. In a report published by the shipyards' bosses, they threaten to dismiss 20,000 workers until the end of 2009. As before, it had been announced that until 2015 orders were made at these shipyards, and now the crisis is taken as an excuse, but the real reason for the dismissals is to produce more with less workers, to hinder the organisation of the workers at the shipyards and to employ the workers for less money.
In Turkey and Northern Kurdistan, more than 400,000 workers have been dismissed because of the crisis. The textile and metal industry sector are among those sectors, where dismissals have happened widely with the excuse of the crisis. Nevertheless, the attacks taking the crisis as a pretext are not only limited to dismissals. Attacks such as sending the workers on holiday without paying them anything, closing factories temporarily, not paying the workers' wages for months, forcing the workers to take their whole holidays of 2009, or forcing the workers to work flexibly or applying other methods during the negotiations on collective agreements have also happened frequently. The bosses and the government try every way to make the workers and labourers pay the bill of the crisis. While unemployment is rising, the workers and labourers are facing more poverty and hunger because of the price increases made one after another. The price for nearly everything, from electricity to natural gas, from water to petrol, is being increased. In a country, where together with the last increase, the minimum wage was risen to 527 TL, and the pension was only risen by 4,5%, only the price for natural gas was increased by 82% in 2008.
The workers and labourers are resisting against the bill of the crisis, the price increases and poverty. With actions and protests, the workers, who can't get their wages, the workers dismissed and the labourers have started a resistance. In the following there are some of these actions and resistances who have taken place isolated at some work places:

Metal workers have been organised actions every Friday for months in nearly 20 cities protesting the dismissals
The IBM workers who had been dismissed at Istanbul for the reason of being a member of the union have been realising actions every Wednesday.
When the workers of the Asil Celik factory in Bursa went to work, they were hindered to enter the factory, and when it was announced that they had to go on holiday which would be paid, they started a resistance.
400 workers, members of the union Birlesik Metal-is, employed at the factory Prysmian occupied the factory when the metal bosses during the negotiations on a collective agreement forced them to work flexibly. Workers, employed at other factories where the union was organised, marched to Prysmian and showed their support.
The workers, employed at Dostel Machine Factory, that is located at Gebze and that produces car parts for companies such as Ford and Otosan, first occupied the factory against the bosses' attacks forcing them to go on unpaid holiday and then the dismissals. After that, the workers organised a march, too.
When 83 workers employed at Tezcan Galvaniz factory, located at Kocaeli, were dismissed from work, they started a resistance. Despite police attacks and arrests, the workers continued to realise actions for some time together with their families. On December 29, 250 workers occupied the factory and announced to continue with the occupation until all workers dismissed will be re-employed.
When the canteen workers at Ankara University were dismissed, the workers and students occupied the canteen together. The attack of the police resulting in the arrest of 40 workers and students didn't manage to finish the resistance. The attack was answered with actions by youth organisations and education teaching staff. The student youth union Genc-Sen and many revolutionary and democratic organisations made their protest actions against the attack spread over to other cities.
The workers, employed at E-Kart at the Organised Industrial Zone of Gebze and members of the union Basin-Is , have been leading a resistance for 6 months after being dismissed.
The workers of the subcontracting firm at Capa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul, who had been dismissed, have determinedly led a resistance.
The fight of Levent Akhan, one of the leaders of the union Limter-Is and who had been employed at Dersan Shipyard, Tuzla, started to be re-employed after his dismissal has taken more than 100 days.
The resistance of Emine Arslan, member of the union Deri-Is , dismissed at the Desa Leather Factory at Sefakoy, Istanbul, for the reason of being a member of a union, has taken 6 months.
When the Selga Textile workers at Istanbul didn't receive their wage for two months and the Money for their overtime hours for 3 months, they started a resistance led by the union Tekstil-Sen . The workers occupied their work places and announced to totally stop the production if they won't receive to what they are entitled to.
It is necessary that militant unions following the line of class unionism as well as revolutionary and communist forces, actively intervene so that many of these resistances of this type, developing isolated and independently from each other, could be turned into a united workers' resistance against the economic crisis and could play an important role in the development of the class movement.
Unions such as Limter-Is, Tekstil-Sen, Birlesik Metal-Is , DISK , Turk-Is Istanbul Branches' Platform, trade associations, democratic mass organisations, and many political forces have announced their programs of struggle against the crisis and drew attention to the importance of the united struggle. Besides the single actions by workers dismissed at many work places, this call of the unions and mass organisations for a common will made 100,000 workers and labourers meet at the rally organised with the title "No to price increases, unemployment and poverty" by DISK and KESK on November 29 at Ankara. The Unions ‘Unity of Gebze organised a rally joined by 5000 people. DISK has started a campaign against the crisis. Due to the campaign, workers in 11 cities went on the streets at the same time and revolted against hunger, poverty and unemployment. Throughout the campaign there will be actions organised at the markets called "my pots are empty" and "podiums to discuss the crisis" will be created at work places, in the quarters and city centres.
The fight of the working class and labourers has made the movement in the labourers' quarters actively, too. Many common platforms founded against the price increases and dismissals organised many actions in many different cities, first of all in the labourers' boroughs Ornektepe, Ikitelli, Nurtepe, Guzeltepe, Zeytinburnu, Sefakoy and Karadolap of Istanbul. It could be seen that the actions realised at the labourers' quarters mainly led by revolutionary forces drew more attention of the people as usually. Although they haven't gained the characteristics of being mass actions, these actions until now show that the labourers' boroughs are ready to explode and that there is the need of a will to make the movement become more actively.
With the slogan "We won't pay the bill for the crisis" the communists aim at spreading the struggle that they are leading against dismissals, price increases and poverty. It continues to be an urgent task to fulfil its vanguard by making the masses not simply and passively await the effects of the crisis, but organising them on the basis of main demands and actively take part in the struggle against the system.
Taking into account the interest of the workers and labourers in politics that will rise because of the upcoming local elections, the communists will use the local election period to enlighten and mobilise the masses on the effects of the crisis.
 

 

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Dismissals, price increases and fights…
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01 January 2009 /International Bulletin / Issue 77  

During the period when the effects of the economic crisis could be felt, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan was saying "the crisis won't affect us". However, the bill of the crisis was yet started to be made paid by the workers and labourers. The bosses have taken the crisis as an excuse and have started to dismiss their workers, and the government constantly increased the prices to make the workers and labourers pay the bill.
According to the bosses organisation GIS-BIR's statement, 13,300 workers were dismissed for reasons of the crisis only within one month at the shipyards zone of Tuzla where subcontracting work, flexible work and the employment without any right of being a member of a union and having an insurance is widely applied, and the dismissals are continuing. In a report published by the shipyards' bosses, they threaten to dismiss 20,000 workers until the end of 2009. As before, it had been announced that until 2015 orders were made at these shipyards, and now the crisis is taken as an excuse, but the real reason for the dismissals is to produce more with less workers, to hinder the organisation of the workers at the shipyards and to employ the workers for less money.
In Turkey and Northern Kurdistan, more than 400,000 workers have been dismissed because of the crisis. The textile and metal industry sector are among those sectors, where dismissals have happened widely with the excuse of the crisis. Nevertheless, the attacks taking the crisis as a pretext are not only limited to dismissals. Attacks such as sending the workers on holiday without paying them anything, closing factories temporarily, not paying the workers' wages for months, forcing the workers to take their whole holidays of 2009, or forcing the workers to work flexibly or applying other methods during the negotiations on collective agreements have also happened frequently. The bosses and the government try every way to make the workers and labourers pay the bill of the crisis. While unemployment is rising, the workers and labourers are facing more poverty and hunger because of the price increases made one after another. The price for nearly everything, from electricity to natural gas, from water to petrol, is being increased. In a country, where together with the last increase, the minimum wage was risen to 527 TL, and the pension was only risen by 4,5%, only the price for natural gas was increased by 82% in 2008.
The workers and labourers are resisting against the bill of the crisis, the price increases and poverty. With actions and protests, the workers, who can't get their wages, the workers dismissed and the labourers have started a resistance. In the following there are some of these actions and resistances who have taken place isolated at some work places:

Metal workers have been organised actions every Friday for months in nearly 20 cities protesting the dismissals
The IBM workers who had been dismissed at Istanbul for the reason of being a member of the union have been realising actions every Wednesday.
When the workers of the Asil Celik factory in Bursa went to work, they were hindered to enter the factory, and when it was announced that they had to go on holiday which would be paid, they started a resistance.
400 workers, members of the union Birlesik Metal-is, employed at the factory Prysmian occupied the factory when the metal bosses during the negotiations on a collective agreement forced them to work flexibly. Workers, employed at other factories where the union was organised, marched to Prysmian and showed their support.
The workers, employed at Dostel Machine Factory, that is located at Gebze and that produces car parts for companies such as Ford and Otosan, first occupied the factory against the bosses' attacks forcing them to go on unpaid holiday and then the dismissals. After that, the workers organised a march, too.
When 83 workers employed at Tezcan Galvaniz factory, located at Kocaeli, were dismissed from work, they started a resistance. Despite police attacks and arrests, the workers continued to realise actions for some time together with their families. On December 29, 250 workers occupied the factory and announced to continue with the occupation until all workers dismissed will be re-employed.
When the canteen workers at Ankara University were dismissed, the workers and students occupied the canteen together. The attack of the police resulting in the arrest of 40 workers and students didn't manage to finish the resistance. The attack was answered with actions by youth organisations and education teaching staff. The student youth union Genc-Sen and many revolutionary and democratic organisations made their protest actions against the attack spread over to other cities.
The workers, employed at E-Kart at the Organised Industrial Zone of Gebze and members of the union Basin-Is , have been leading a resistance for 6 months after being dismissed.
The workers of the subcontracting firm at Capa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul, who had been dismissed, have determinedly led a resistance.
The fight of Levent Akhan, one of the leaders of the union Limter-Is and who had been employed at Dersan Shipyard, Tuzla, started to be re-employed after his dismissal has taken more than 100 days.
The resistance of Emine Arslan, member of the union Deri-Is , dismissed at the Desa Leather Factory at Sefakoy, Istanbul, for the reason of being a member of a union, has taken 6 months.
When the Selga Textile workers at Istanbul didn't receive their wage for two months and the Money for their overtime hours for 3 months, they started a resistance led by the union Tekstil-Sen . The workers occupied their work places and announced to totally stop the production if they won't receive to what they are entitled to.
It is necessary that militant unions following the line of class unionism as well as revolutionary and communist forces, actively intervene so that many of these resistances of this type, developing isolated and independently from each other, could be turned into a united workers' resistance against the economic crisis and could play an important role in the development of the class movement.
Unions such as Limter-Is, Tekstil-Sen, Birlesik Metal-Is , DISK , Turk-Is Istanbul Branches' Platform, trade associations, democratic mass organisations, and many political forces have announced their programs of struggle against the crisis and drew attention to the importance of the united struggle. Besides the single actions by workers dismissed at many work places, this call of the unions and mass organisations for a common will made 100,000 workers and labourers meet at the rally organised with the title "No to price increases, unemployment and poverty" by DISK and KESK on November 29 at Ankara. The Unions ‘Unity of Gebze organised a rally joined by 5000 people. DISK has started a campaign against the crisis. Due to the campaign, workers in 11 cities went on the streets at the same time and revolted against hunger, poverty and unemployment. Throughout the campaign there will be actions organised at the markets called "my pots are empty" and "podiums to discuss the crisis" will be created at work places, in the quarters and city centres.
The fight of the working class and labourers has made the movement in the labourers' quarters actively, too. Many common platforms founded against the price increases and dismissals organised many actions in many different cities, first of all in the labourers' boroughs Ornektepe, Ikitelli, Nurtepe, Guzeltepe, Zeytinburnu, Sefakoy and Karadolap of Istanbul. It could be seen that the actions realised at the labourers' quarters mainly led by revolutionary forces drew more attention of the people as usually. Although they haven't gained the characteristics of being mass actions, these actions until now show that the labourers' boroughs are ready to explode and that there is the need of a will to make the movement become more actively.
With the slogan "We won't pay the bill for the crisis" the communists aim at spreading the struggle that they are leading against dismissals, price increases and poverty. It continues to be an urgent task to fulfil its vanguard by making the masses not simply and passively await the effects of the crisis, but organising them on the basis of main demands and actively take part in the struggle against the system.
Taking into account the interest of the workers and labourers in politics that will rise because of the upcoming local elections, the communists will use the local election period to enlighten and mobilise the masses on the effects of the crisis.