Workers from İZBAN; the main transportation system connecting north and south of İzmir, have gone on strike due to the disagreement between Turkish Railway Workers' Union (Demiryol-İş) and İZBAN management. Also in Manisa, workers are on strike at Ferrero factory for one month.
Railroad traffic in İzmir city halted after the workers decided to go on strike. 340 workers from İzmir’s main transportation system İZBAN, which daily transports nearly 350 thousand passengers, went on strike following the disagreement between Turkish Railway Workers' Union (Demiryol-İş) and İZBAN management on labor contract. İZBAN workers including railroad machinists, station operators, ticket agents and maintenance workers, put down their tools on Tuesday morning in accordance with the union’s decision.
Acoording to Evrensel newspaper, union’s finance secretary in İzmir, Hamdullah Giral pointed out that İZBAN management misled the public opinion by claiming that their wage offer was much higher than the inflation rate and the wage increases in public sector. Giral told that the highest wage for İZBAN workers was not more than 1500-1600 TL while 105 workers received minimum wage. He also said that they demanded a 24% increase in wages but İZBAN management’s offer was only 11%.
A STRIKE BREAKING ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE COMPANY
İZBAN company management, on the other hand, made a strike breaking announcement and told that İzmir Metropolitan Municipality would increase the number of buses on İZBAN route. It also threatened that the ticket prices might rise in case they would meet workers’ demands.
STRIKE IN CHOCOLATE FACTORY ENTERED ITS SECOND MONTH
Also in Manisa, the strike at Ferrero factory, which produces Nutella and Kinder chocolates, entered its second month. The factory workers went on strike last month after Tek Gıda-İş (Turkish food and allied workers trade union) could not come to an agreement for a collective bargaining.
