İzmir strike ends as union, municipality reach wage deal
IZMIR
A week-long strike by municipal workers in the western Turkish city of İzmir came to an end on June 4 after unions and the municipality reached an agreement on wages, media has reported.
The strike, which had paralyzed many essential public services in Türkiye’s third-largest city, concluded after Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Türkiye (DİSK) accepted what Mayor Cemil Tugay described as his “final offer.”
While local media outlets noted that the full details of the agreement have yet to be formally disclosed, several newspapers reported that the İzmir Municipality, a traditional bastion of support for the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), proposed a 30 percent increase on July 1, followed by a 19 percent rise on Jan. 1, 2026.
During a mass gathering, DİSK senior official Ercan Gül announced that İZELMAN workers granted the union authorization to sign the collective contract on their behalf. Gül also called on striking workers from İZENERJİ, another major municipal company, to do the same.
The workers, organized under DİSK, staged the strike to demand wage increases and the elimination of salary disparities among municipal employees represented by different unions. Approximately 23,000 workers from the opposition-held municipality participated in the industrial action, which reached its seventh day on June 4.
With many municipal services suspended, piles of rubbish amassed on the roadsides, with local media showing footage of the mayor joining rubbish collection efforts over the weekend.
