Miners staged a protest against statutory decrees introduced to parliament via an omnibus bill on the part of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) that would amend the Mining Law. The workers locked themselves in a mine to protest the Article enacting that "the Turkish Hard Coal Authority (TKK) and the Turkish Coal Enterprise Institution are authorised to operate licensed mining locations under their responsibility, to divide them and to demand new licenses or contract these licenses out."
The amendment protested by the miners would pave the way for the privatisation of the Turkish Hard Coal Enterprise Institution and may result in many dismissals. The government bill will be voted on in the parliament this week.
Saying that the miners are fighting for their bread and labour, Tayfun Demir, the Branch Chairperson of the General Mine Workers' Union (GMİS), stated that there are 200-250 workers underground, while there are 700-800 ones above ground, and noted similar protests are being carried out at other institutions.
Miners from other mines in the Amasra district of the northern province of Bartın are also supporting and standing in solidarity with the workers' resistance in Zonguldak.
Chanting slogans against the privatisation of the institution 200 meters below the ground, workers said that they would continue their protests until the draft law leading to the privatisation of the institution is revoked.
The Union of Food Industry Workers of Turkey (GIDA-İŞ), affiliated to the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions (DİSK), also put out a statement regarding the resistance of miners in Zonguldak.
"The honourable struggle of 1000 mineworkers underground against the order of death and slavery is the struggle and resistance of Turkey's working class. We call all workers, trade unions, professional organisations, political parties in favour of labour, and the peoples of Turkey to be in solidarity with the mineworkers. The resistant miners are not alone!" the statement of GIDA-İŞ said.
