Turkey's highway workers gained, to continue struggling until all demands fulfilled

Workers of the Northern Marmara Highway project in Gebze, where three workers died after a concrete block has collapsed in the construction of a viaduct, are paid after their declaration of demands was publicized
Thursday, 20 December 2018 13:54

Workers at the construction of the Northern Marmara Highway in Turkey’s northwestern province of Kocaeli’s Gebze district had contacted the network ‘Breathe Down Bosses’ Neck’, which is a solidarity, communication and struggle network established by the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) against the crisis and its profiteers, the capitalists. They issued a declaration including their major demands to protest poor working conditions and the violation of their rights by the employers.

The minimum wages of the workers who could not get their salaries for three months were paid after the nine-point declaration, claiming that the employers are responsible from the occupational murders at the construction site, their salaries have not been paid in due date, and they demand improvement of working conditions in all other construction sites.  

Three workers had lost their lives after a concrete block collapsed during the construction of a viaduct in the Northern Marmara Highway project in Kocaeli on November 28.

WORKERS WILL CONTINUE FIGHTING FOR THEIR RIGHTS

The workers also stated that they will continue with their struggle until all of their demands are fulfilled. “They try to silence us by pseudo promises and little gains, but we will go after the occupational murders claiming the lives of our friends and all the basic demands stated in the declaration”, they said.

The resisting workers also called on all other workers working at the construction of the Northern Marmara Highway to join the solidarity network in order to carry out a collective and more powerful struggle against the capitalists.

The workers also said that the Turkish government and its profiteer capitalists, Limak-Cengiz and Kolin-Kalyon Joint Venture Groups, aim to complete the project by the end of the year but this is not possible.

Workers also informed that the employers totally ignore the occupational safety measures in order to finish the highway construction as soon as possible.