Zonguldak is carrying the dynamics, experiences and the rage of a new worker's resistance. Illusions of chauvinism on reaction centres, the results of the crisis' conditions as well as bad living and working conditions have forced the workers to do so. It is the communists that will convey consciousness and organisation to the workers. And it is clear that the liberation from capitalist barbarity and exploitation can only work with an increase of this level of conscious and organisation and with bigger revolutionary actions. 1 June 2010 / International Bulletin / No 94
On May 17, 2010 again a methane explosion happened at the mines in Zonguldak that is the centre of mass deaths resulting from work-related accidents. This time 30 workers were buried and lost their lives. And again were the families', widows' and children's' pain and tears shown in TV. . In December 2009, 19 workers had lost their lives in a private mine in Bursa and in February 2010, 13 workers in a mine belonging to a private sector in Balikesir. When the pain was still fresh, 30 workers were buried in 540 metres depth in Zonguldak, and this made the whole country, especially workers, labourers and the poor experience new pain. Zonguldak is a workers' city that comes to the agenda through methane explosions and the mass deaths due to explosions in mines. In 1983 103 workers died in Armutcuk coal mine, in 1992 263 workers died in Kozlu coal mine and dozens of workers died in other work-related accidents. Bad working conditions, non-registration, working without any rules and control, the ban on membership in a union and the lack of work security at this workers' centre have continued to make all workers and labourers who must sell their labour face the risk to lose their life or become wounded. The low level of organisation within a union in Turkey as well as the limitation of the freedom to organise yourself within a union, the work without any control, the lack of guaranteeing labour and workers' security, flexible work and the attacks of privatisation and sub-contracting have worsened the work conditions. And this situation has prevented to take technical, educational and other precautions against work accidents. With the resistance of mine workers in November 1990, Zonguldak has become a special fact in the history of class struggle in Turkey and Northern Kurdistan. The mine workers' strike and resistance became the resistance of the whole population of Zonguldak. And they showed that there are big dynamics, conditions and opportunities to create and strengthen a revolutionary worker's movement in Turkey. The mine workers marched towards Ankara with the slogan "We burned the boats, there's no way going back". And they made the government at that time withdraw. Turkey is first in Europe concerning work-related accidents leading to death. The reason for that are the work conditions such as no official registration of the workers as employees, work without any rules and control as well as inhuman working conditions. In the sectors shipyard, textile, construction, council, fire brigade and others, dozens of work-related accidents leading to deaths happened. And these accidents continue to happen. The last one resulting in the death of a worker happened on May 27 in the Selahattin Arslan dockyard, in the region of the Tuzla dockyards, where mortal labour accidents are happening frequently Our party MLCP calls on its forces and organisations, on the workers and labourers who must work at mines, the Tuzla shipyards and at the work sectors textile, construction, chemistry and other sectors under working conditions without being registered, without any rules, control and under inhuman conditions to go on the streets, organise actions and struggle against the capital's barbarity and the disinterest of the AKP 's government. We know that the collaborating monopoly bourgeoisie and the colonialist state that it is mainly the lack of the working class' political and mass organisation or as well the low level of organisation and weak action in any level that is keeping them reckless and uninterested in terms of the work-related accidents leading to deaths. In this sense, the current period is giving the forces that are the vanguard of the working class important historical and current political duties. Zonguldak is carrying the dynamics, experiences and the rage of a new worker's resistance. Illusions of chauvinism on reaction centres, the results of the crisis' conditions as well as bad living and working conditions have forced the workers to do so. It is the communists that will convey consciousness and organisation to the workers. And it is clear that the liberation from capitalist barbarity and exploitation can only work with an increase of this level of conscious and organisation and with bigger revolutionary actions. The workers have been on the streets on May 26 despite betrayal of the trade-unions The actions on May 26, which was decided as a general action day by four trade union confederations, KESK , DISK , Kamu-Sen and Turk-Is three months ago, were quite weak due to the attitude of the confederations that showed their line of betrayal once more by renouncing the decision of action. The only confederation that followed the decision was KESK, while the strong aspect of May 26 was the actions in many cities carried out despite the attitude of the yellow trade unions. The fact that a few days before the actions of May 26, a group formed by TEKEL workers, Esenyurt workers and firemen that continue their resistances occupied buildings of the confederation Turk-Is forcing them to call for the action was another important element of the process. The pretext of the decision of general action on May 26 included 12 points consisting of the basic demands of the working class and the labourers, first of all the demands against flexible work and outsourcing. Of course, none of these demands were met in the period after the decision. Moreover, the mine disaster in Zonguldak that happened just one week before the May 26 actions had made it even more urgent and compulsory to organise the general actions on May 26 that could give a leap forward to the struggle against the anti-labour policies and to take the so called labour "accidents" on behalf of the mine workers of Zonguldak as one of the central issues of the actions. However, the yellow trade unions did not fulfil the decision of general action. The actions of May 26 showed very openly the line of betrayal of the yellow unions; the line which was already denounced in the process of TEKEL resistance in the example of Turk-Is.
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