Crisis and resistance
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 The workers and labourers are not accepting this increasingly worsening situation without a struggle. Even though the strikes and resistances are still isolated, an increasing activity with forms of struggle becoming more radical cannot be ignored.

01 August 2009 /

Despite all the attempts of the government to gloss over, the consequences of the worldwide economic crisis on Turkey/Northern Kurdistan are becoming more and more obvious. In the first quarter of this year, Turkey's economy shrank by 13, 8 per cent. By this second big economic shrinkage in the whole history of Turkey, it is now in first place among the OECD countries and worldwide in place 3.
At the same time, the budget deficit amounted in only 6 months to 23, 2 milliards TL. The AKP government tries to go against this by saddling the people with the burden of debts by increasing the taxes. Due to the tax increase of the tax of fuels, there was a price rise of 7, 8 per cent at an average. Moreover, the VAT rate hiked again to 18 per cent; which means a price increase of 10 per cent.
Another effect of the economic crisis is the growing unemployment. According to the Turkish Statistical Institute, unemployment increased within one year by 5 per cent to 14, 9 per cent. According to this data, 3, 5 millions of people are unemployed, whereas the unemployment in the cities is 17, 5 per cent and in the countryside 9, 5 per cent and 26, 5 per cent of the youth is without work. However, this official data is still quit far away from reality. The research centre of DISK published a survey which says that the real number of unemployed increased to 5.837.000 in April this year. Thus, the real rate of unemployment is already 24, 7 per cent. Today, every forth youngster is unemployed. Already in the beginning of the crisis in September 2008, the unemployment was more than 3 millions.
The workers and labourers are not accepting this increasingly worsening situation without a struggle. Even though the strikes and resistances are still isolated, an increasing activity with forms of struggle becoming more radical cannot be ignored. The metal union Birlesik Metal is fighting since December 22 last year in the Sinter Metal factory located in Umraniye, district of Istanbul against layoff because of membership in the union. The union Tekstil-Sen first fought in the companies Selga, Safak, Miteks, Asya and Hiranur and at present at Ag Tekstil for the rights of the workers. The members of the union Limter-Is are resisting in the companies CHT and Positif Gemi. Since February, the journalists are for the first time since the military coup of September 12, 1980 in strike. The municipal workers organised in the union Genel-Is took to the street on July 17 and blocked the traffic in order to get their outstanding wages. 185 have not got their wages for 8 months. The tea producers have protested in several cities at the Black Sea against the state-owned company Cay-Kur, which did not pay them for the tea they delivered. At a demonstration on July 14 in Findikli more than 100 demonstrators broke through a police barrier and demanded that the mafia gangs should be blocked, not the labourers.
Besides many more protest actions and strikes also the labouring public servants of the unions Egitim-Sen and KESK took to the street in Ankara, in Izmir there was a successful two-day strike at the rail traffic, in Adana the office workers protested against transfers and the union Tez Koop-Is with 3000 members decided to go to strike after the collective wage negotiations failed in Ankara. Besides all these strikes, protests and resistance, in some cases even occupations of factories and hostage-takings occurred.
All these actions of the workers and labourers in different cities are showing clearly the willingness to resist actively against the policy of crisis at the expense of the labourers and not to accept that the burden of the crisis will be burdened to the workers and labourers. However, the conciliating line of the yellow unions, which shrink back from any serious conflict with the capitalists and are trying to lead the increasing rage of the workers and labourers into quiet channels, is a serious obstacle for the increase of the growing movement. At the beginning of the crisis many yellow unions announced comprehensive actions plans, but it became evident that this only served to fizzle out the accumulated rage and the words were not followed by action. The bureaucracy of the unions tries by all force to let the hot air escape and accepts one demand of the capitalists after another, as it was the case recently in the round of collective bargaining in the public service. Here, the important task class struggle oriented unions are confronted with today, becomes evident.
In order to prevent that the spontaneous movement of the working class and the labouring masses arising everywhere not peters out but becomes a class-conscious movement against the regime, a determinant intervention of the revolutionary movement is necessary. Only if the communist vanguard will manage to anchor into the working class, it will be able to use the various opportunities, which the recent economic crisis offers.
 

 

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Crisis and resistance
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 The workers and labourers are not accepting this increasingly worsening situation without a struggle. Even though the strikes and resistances are still isolated, an increasing activity with forms of struggle becoming more radical cannot be ignored.

01 August 2009 /

Despite all the attempts of the government to gloss over, the consequences of the worldwide economic crisis on Turkey/Northern Kurdistan are becoming more and more obvious. In the first quarter of this year, Turkey's economy shrank by 13, 8 per cent. By this second big economic shrinkage in the whole history of Turkey, it is now in first place among the OECD countries and worldwide in place 3.
At the same time, the budget deficit amounted in only 6 months to 23, 2 milliards TL. The AKP government tries to go against this by saddling the people with the burden of debts by increasing the taxes. Due to the tax increase of the tax of fuels, there was a price rise of 7, 8 per cent at an average. Moreover, the VAT rate hiked again to 18 per cent; which means a price increase of 10 per cent.
Another effect of the economic crisis is the growing unemployment. According to the Turkish Statistical Institute, unemployment increased within one year by 5 per cent to 14, 9 per cent. According to this data, 3, 5 millions of people are unemployed, whereas the unemployment in the cities is 17, 5 per cent and in the countryside 9, 5 per cent and 26, 5 per cent of the youth is without work. However, this official data is still quit far away from reality. The research centre of DISK published a survey which says that the real number of unemployed increased to 5.837.000 in April this year. Thus, the real rate of unemployment is already 24, 7 per cent. Today, every forth youngster is unemployed. Already in the beginning of the crisis in September 2008, the unemployment was more than 3 millions.
The workers and labourers are not accepting this increasingly worsening situation without a struggle. Even though the strikes and resistances are still isolated, an increasing activity with forms of struggle becoming more radical cannot be ignored. The metal union Birlesik Metal is fighting since December 22 last year in the Sinter Metal factory located in Umraniye, district of Istanbul against layoff because of membership in the union. The union Tekstil-Sen first fought in the companies Selga, Safak, Miteks, Asya and Hiranur and at present at Ag Tekstil for the rights of the workers. The members of the union Limter-Is are resisting in the companies CHT and Positif Gemi. Since February, the journalists are for the first time since the military coup of September 12, 1980 in strike. The municipal workers organised in the union Genel-Is took to the street on July 17 and blocked the traffic in order to get their outstanding wages. 185 have not got their wages for 8 months. The tea producers have protested in several cities at the Black Sea against the state-owned company Cay-Kur, which did not pay them for the tea they delivered. At a demonstration on July 14 in Findikli more than 100 demonstrators broke through a police barrier and demanded that the mafia gangs should be blocked, not the labourers.
Besides many more protest actions and strikes also the labouring public servants of the unions Egitim-Sen and KESK took to the street in Ankara, in Izmir there was a successful two-day strike at the rail traffic, in Adana the office workers protested against transfers and the union Tez Koop-Is with 3000 members decided to go to strike after the collective wage negotiations failed in Ankara. Besides all these strikes, protests and resistance, in some cases even occupations of factories and hostage-takings occurred.
All these actions of the workers and labourers in different cities are showing clearly the willingness to resist actively against the policy of crisis at the expense of the labourers and not to accept that the burden of the crisis will be burdened to the workers and labourers. However, the conciliating line of the yellow unions, which shrink back from any serious conflict with the capitalists and are trying to lead the increasing rage of the workers and labourers into quiet channels, is a serious obstacle for the increase of the growing movement. At the beginning of the crisis many yellow unions announced comprehensive actions plans, but it became evident that this only served to fizzle out the accumulated rage and the words were not followed by action. The bureaucracy of the unions tries by all force to let the hot air escape and accepts one demand of the capitalists after another, as it was the case recently in the round of collective bargaining in the public service. Here, the important task class struggle oriented unions are confronted with today, becomes evident.
In order to prevent that the spontaneous movement of the working class and the labouring masses arising everywhere not peters out but becomes a class-conscious movement against the regime, a determinant intervention of the revolutionary movement is necessary. Only if the communist vanguard will manage to anchor into the working class, it will be able to use the various opportunities, which the recent economic crisis offers.