Labor unions announce one-day strike as Tekel workers resume protest

Following a breakdown in negotiations between the government and the representatives of Tekel workers staging labor action in Ankara, the workers’ union announced Tuesday a one-day strike and the resumption of a hunger strike.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, meanwhile, said Tuesday that Tekel workers should return home, saying the government will use all “legal means” to end their protests if they do not do so by the end of the month. 

Erdoğan met Monday with Mustafa Kumlu, chairman of the Confederation of Turkish Labor Unions, or Türk-İş, to discuss the government’s new formula on Tekel workers’ demands. Following their first meeting Friday, Erdoğan asked his ministers to work on ways to resolve the issue.

The government later proposed some improvements on the content of Article 4/C of Law No. 657, which regulates the working conditions of public employees, insisting on the transfer of Tekel workers to other public institutions under the article.

The main dispute between Tekel workers and the government stems from the nature of Article 4/C, which gives affected workers the status of public employee but with lower wages and fewer employee rights.

Tekel workers, however, want to be considered "public workers,” the status they had before Tekel’s privatization, which they say accorded them far better rights and benefits.

Under the article, employees are only permitted to work a maximum of 10 months and do not have job security and the right to receive severance pay. Following the protests, the government later expanded this period to 11 months and made a partial improvement in salaries.

The workers, however, have entirely rejected Article 4/C. In its Monday proposal, the government expanded the Tekel laborers’ working period to 11 months and 22 days and offered the right to severance pay. 

National strike and hunger fast 

Kumlu, however, rejected the government’s proposal, saying Tekel workers wanted to be transferred to other public institutions with the rights they held before Tekel’s privatization. 

Following Monday’s disagreement, six union federations convened Tuesday and scheduled a one-day nationwide strike for Thursday. The workers, meanwhile, resumed a hunger strike to protest the government Tuesday.

The union confederations also plan to meet Friday to identify a road map for the immediate future.

Meanwhile, Tekel workers officially became unemployed as of Jan. 31 as the government closed the state-owned Tekel units that were not privatized. The government thus paid workers their severance pay and gave a month for them to work at other public institutions as per Article 4/C. 

Political parties’ reaction

During his parliamentary group meeting Tuesday, Erdoğan was uncompromising on the workers’ labor action. “The Tekel workers’ strike is illegal and this illegal strike has exceeded its initial goals. It has now turned into a campaign against the government. The workers should end their protests by the end of this month, otherwise the government will use all legal means to end their actions.”

Erdoğan also criticized the media and opposition parties for exploiting the issue to their own benefit. “Tekel workers are being supported by some opposition groups. With the use of the media, the situation is being exploited, and this has gone beyond the innocent pursuit of rights.”  

Erdoğan urged the workers to sign up for 4/C benefits. “We offered you an option and gave you an employment opportunity through Article 4/C. If you want to continue working in the public sector, you should sign Article 4/C today.” According to CNN Turk, only 28 Tekel workers have signed up to Article 4/C as of Tuesday.

The situation also occupied the agendas of opposition parties, who criticized the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, for its uncompromising attitude.

In his address to the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, parliamentary group meeting Tuesday, Deniz Baykal defended Tekel workers, saying removing the workers’ rights would not solve the problem.

“The government destroyed Tekel, which was profitable, by privatizing it. It is the government’s duty to grant the workers their rights. It is not the military, but Tekel workers who will throw you out of power,” Baykal said. 

Speaking at the Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP’s, parliamentary group meeting Tuesday, leader Devlet Bahçeli said the government had forced workers to accept bad conditions.

“The government says its financial facilities are limited but we see there are some partisans and relatives who have managed to find opportunities offered them by the government,” Bahçeli said. “If the financial facilities are limited, then it means poverty will last forever during the rule of the AKP.” 

Meanwhile, President Abdullah Gül said Tuesday he conveyed his views on the issue to both the prime minister and Türk-İş, adding that he was hoping for a positive result.