Turkey - Glass workers win pay increase after unprecedented action - June 30, 2017

Some six thousand members of trade union Kristal-İş won a significant victory after staging a remarkable work-in at nine Şişecam glass factories across the country. The union announced an intention to strike on 24 May, after failing to agree the wage offer from their employer. To support the employer, the government banned the strike, citing national security concerns. The workers resolved to stay in their factories until their demands were met. They maintained their three daily shifts, and at the end of the shift, pitched tents on the factory grounds or slept in the canteen. After thirteen days of action, the company agreed to meet with workers’ representatives. After three rounds of negotiation, a comprehensive two-year collective bargaining agreement was signed between the union and the employer. The agreement includes shift bonuses for night work, holiday, travel and clothing allowance, and a significant wage increase. Low paid workers got the highest increase, with the average being 16.3%.

English: http://www.industriall-union.org/turkish-glass-workers-win-large-increase …  

For more information, please contact the editor Jan Cremers, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS) cbn-aias@uva.nl or the communications officer at the ETUI, Willy De Backer wdebacker@etui.org. For previous issues of the Collective bargaining newsletter please visit http://www.etui.org/E-Newsletters/Collective-bargaining-newsletter. Since June 2013 readers can consult our archive and search through all articles in our database at www.cbnarchive.eu. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org, and on the AIAS at www.uva-aias.net.

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