In recent days, CEO of Aras Cargo Evrim Aras demanded a commercial trustee for the company. The pretext was that Austrian shareholder of the company, Austrian Post, wanted to buy the company for an undervalued share price and created a dispute that made the company management impossible.
Evrim Aras is introduced as a "modern" and young capitalist woman, "addicted to her independence". Her career is sold as a "success story" of a high-skilled capitalist woman. However, the real story behind this "success" is very different.
WORKERS PAID THE DEBTS OF THE COMPANY
Aras inherited a highly indebted company. It is known that she persuaded workers of the company to continue working while being unpaid for an undefined period of time. Workers are said to "voluntarily be in solidarity" with her. The reality is, in 2008 when the company was near to bankruptcy, Turkish economy was in deep crisis and the unemployment rate was rising. Workers had to admit the conditions imposed by the company management.
Aras Cargo was also known with the news that its workers were illegally not allowed to be members to the trade union. Workers who became members of trade unions were dismissed.
MODERN CAPITALIST ARM-IN-ARM WITH AKP
Evrim Aras sells her modern appearance and indicates her loyalty to principles of Atatürk, founder of Turkish Republic. On the other hand, she cooperates with AKP, the ruling party of Turkey known with anti-women policies, on the common ground of money.
AKP government accepted the demand of Evrim Aras to appoint a commercial trustee to the company, which is unusual for international companies and helped the company to by-pass the Austrian shareholder. This is the recent step of the company to raise its revenues, after grasping the wages of the employees.
