Protestbrief tegen stakingsverbod in Turkije
“Waarom komen jullie aan ons brood?” Dat was de reactie van de metaalarbeiders en hun families richting de Turkse AKP-regering nadat die een halt toeriep aan hun staking. De staking werd door de regering zestig dagen uitgesteld, met de smoes dat hij “de nationale veiligheid” zou schaden.
De vakbond van vijftienduizend metaalarbeiders in Turkije, Birleşik Metal-İş Sendikası (Vakbond van Verenigde Metaalbewerkers), lid van Devrimci İşçi Sendikaları Konfederasyonu (Confederatie Vakbonden van Revolutionaire Arbeiders), besloot om in 22 fabrieken in tien provincies op 29 januari het werk neer te leggen. Het conflict ontstond tijdens de cao-onderhandelingen op het punt van loon. Er is zelfs een fabriek waar de lonen lager zijn dan het minimumloon van 949,07 Turkse lira (337,84 euro).
Een paar dagen na het begin van de staking greep de AKP-regering in. De ministerraad stelde de staking uit, omdat hij schade zou toebrengen aan “de nationale veiligheid”, maar feitelijk werd dat argument misbruikt om de belangen van de bazen te beschermen.
Doorbraak is mede-ondertekenaar van onderstaande protestbrief tegen het besluit van het Turkse kabinet. Het initiatief tot de brief is genomen door TIE-Nederland. De ondertekenaars verklaren zich solidair met de stakende metaalarbeiders die een normaal loon eisen via hun legitieme recht om te staken. In de verklaring wordt een oproep gedaan aan de Turkse regering om de fundamentele rechten van arbeiders te respecteren. En om het besluit van het uitstel terug te trekken en een omgeving te creëren waarbij vrije collectieve onderhandelingen plaats kunnen vinden. De protestbrief is gisteren op de Internationale Dag van het Stakingsrecht verstuurd naar de Turkse regering. De verklaring kan nog steeds worden ondertekend. Mail naar marten@tie-netherlands.nl.
Emek Egeli
“National security” misused to protect business interests
Letter protesting the decree of the cabinet of Turkey to postpone the strikes in metal industry
The Netherlands based civil society organisations signed below urge the Turkish government to withdraw the decree postponing the strike for decent wages in the metal industry and create a political environment whereby free collective bargaining negotiations can take place. The signed organisations are working for the advancement of labour rights in the Netherlands, Turkey, and on an international level (some in close contact with Birleşik Metal-İş). It is our strong conviction that the act of striking is one of the most important ways to achieve the respect of labour rights and tackle labour rights violations. We are therefore outraged to learn that the Turkish cabinet has postponed, in reality banned, the strike in the metal industry covering 38 companies that Birleşik Metal-İş partly launched on 29 January 2015 and would start on 19 February 2015 in ten different cities of Turkey. We vehemently protest this act to ban these legitimate strikes.
Banning the strike on a presumed threat to “national security” – as stated in the decree published in the Official Gazette from 30 January 2015 is an undemocratic measure that is in breach of Turkey’s international commitments, and contrary to Turkey’s aim to align itself with EU human rights standards. We consider this ban a clear violation of the right to strike, which is one of the fundamental rights of workers, guaranteed by the Constitution of Turkey as well as in international conventions ratified by your Government and the jurisprudence of the International Labour Organization (ILO).
By using national security grounds to ban strikes, the Turkish Government is misusing article 6356 of the Turkish Law on Trade Unions and Collective Labour Agreement. In particular, since the AKP government came to power, a series of strikes in the rubber, glass, mining and metal sectors have been banned arguing that they are “prejudicial to national security”. Using this pretext to ban a strike in manufacturing sectors does not have any rational or legal grounds. Instead, it is our firm conviction that the government is favouring business interests rather than protecting the rights of workers.
The Turkish government should know that its decision to ban the strikes constitutes a breach of international labour norms and standards. As a matter of fact, the ILO’s Committee on Freedom of Association ruled that the government of Turkey, in suspending a strike in the sector on the grounds that the strike would be a threat to national security, was in violation of the principles of freedom of association. We would like to recall that the very same ILO Committee noted with regret the decision of the Council of Ministers to suspend a strike on grounds of national security, without any apparent relationship between the industries in question (tire, glass, municipality services and state-run undertakings) and national security.
The global union movement receives daily reports of brutal labour rights violations being committed in Turkey. In view of all these facts, it must be concluded that fundamental workers’ rights – particularly the right to strike – are not being respected in Turkey. This must come to an end.
Therefore, the undersigned call on the Turkish government to respect fundamental workers’ rights. We stand firm in solidarity with the striking metalworkers, who demand decent wages through their legitimate right to strike. Once again we urge the Turkish government to withdraw the decree postponing the strike in the metal industry called by Birleşik Metal-İş, and create a proper environment whereby free collective bargaining negotiations can take place.
Signed,
Transnationals Information Exchange (TIE)- Netherlands.
Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO)
DIDF-Nederland (Federation of Democratic Associations of Turkish Workers in the Netherlands)
Grenzeloos – Borderless
Doorbraak
XminY – Action Fund