During the ongoing group collective bargaining process with Turkey Metal Industrialists’ Union (MESS) covering 130 thousand workers, at a stage when the strike was declared in the workplaces, the Ministerial Cabinet banned our strike decision.
In the collective bargaining negotiations of the 2017-2019 period, which continued between our union and MESS and resulted in a dispute, the strike in this process was banned before it even took place.
In particular, with the strike ban announced today before the meeting with MESS, the government once again showed its open support to the MESS and bosses and ignored the struggle of 130,000 metal workers. We ignore and do not recognize this unthinkable assault on our Constitutional right to strike.
It is not acceptable that the Council of Ministers prohibits the strike of 130 thousand workers on the grounds that it is “harmful to national security” especially on the day when MESS invited 3 unions to meet again at different times on the same day.
Metal workers will give the necessary response to this Government who is enemy of the workers. By keeping their promises to employers, AKP Governments banned almost all the strikes since the day they took power.
With this final decision, the number of banned strikes has reached to 14. The number of the strikes banned during the state of emergency has reached to 6. The AKP governments banned our strike in Electromechanical Sector and Asil Steel at the beginning of 2017 and our 2015 MESS strikes before. In addition to the strikes of our union, the strikes of Glass and Bank workers were also banned contrary to the Constitution and international conventions.
The Council of Ministers declared the prohibition decision of the strike as of 04:00 am and suddenly destroyed the metalworkers’ right to strike as it is ordered by the President. The right to strike is a universal right. It is a constitutional right guaranteed by International Conventions.
Taking away of our right to strike is an open and illegal assault to our right to free collective bargaining. Collective bargaining without a right to strike is “nothing”. The government has made it a habit to ban the strikes by using various excuses.
We, as metalworkers don’t recognize the Government’s ban on our strike as we didn’t recognize the previous strike ban in EMİS (electromechanical industry) workplaces before. This strike ban protects only bosses, doesn’t protect workers’ rights, takes away workers right to strike, prevents the usage of a Constitutional right.
Today, as metalworkers, we will give our response to those who ban our strike by using our power stemming from production in workplaces.
Our union will apply its decision to go on strike on Feb. 2 at 30 workplaces covering around 12 thousand workers covered by MESS. We invite all friends of labor to support this righteous struggle of the Birleşik Metal İş member metalworkers.
LONG LIVE METALWORKERS’ RIGHTEOUS STRUGGLE
LONG LIVE BİRLEŞİK METAL İŞ
BİRLEŞİK METAL İŞ
EXECUTİVE BOARD
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