The Hizmet-Is public service union has been running a major campaign for the reinstatement of 97 workers sacked by the mayor of the Bolu municipality in North West Turkey. No reasons were given for the sackings and the workers have been protesting for over 110 days and even marched the 200 km to Ankara in protest. EPSU has sent a letter of protest to the mayor asking for the workers to be reinstated. See also the campaign involving Genel-Is, fighting for the rights of workers sacked by the Aliağa municipality, reported in the previous issue of the newsletter.
Union campaigns against dismissals
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Cross-sector actions against weakening of dismissal law
Unions across the public and private sectors have been taking various forms of industrial action including strikes on 3 October and overtime bans in protest at government plans to make it easier to dismiss workers in businesses employing 10 or fewer people. The three union confederations have rejected the proposals which they say are unfair and will do nothing to boost employment. They are also angry at the government's action, failing to undertake any consultation or negotiation with the trade union movement.
Unions protest over dismissals and minimum wage
On 3 October unions in the DISK and KESK confederations organised a half-day work stoppage in the city of Izmir in western Turkey. The strike called for the reinstatement of workers who have been arbitrarily dismissed by the government in its continuing indiscriminate actions following the attempted coup in 2016. The unions also called for an increase in the minimum wage and for municipal workers to be treated the same as civil servants in relation to the government's recent legislation to end outsourcing.