Turkish government threatens protestor miners

​The Turkish Hard Coal Enterprise directorate posted threatening notices at various mines where the workers protested the government’s anti-worker initiative
Friday, 10 November 2017 05:30

Approximately 2000 miners, who staged a protest on Nov. 6 in Turkey's northwestern province of Zonguldak against statutory decrees introduced to parliament with the imitative of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), face 'administrative fine' due to participation in an "illegal strike". 

The miners' protest came after the amendments that would pave the way for the privatisation of the Turkish Hard Coal Enterprise (TKK). The miners who had locked themselves in a mine to protest the government-led motion ended their protest after 21 hours due to the trade union's demand.

However, the Turkish Hard Coal Enterprise directorate posted threatening notices at various mines where the workers protested the government’s anti-worker initiative. The notice stated that the workers who participated in illegal strikes would face an administrative fine valuing 944 Turkish Liras per worker. 

Meanwhile, the General Mine Workers' Union (GMİS) announced that the fine would not be implemented in accordance to their meeting with the Turkish Coal Enterprise's directors. The union said that the notice was just an "official procedure", adding that all the protestor mine workers’ official testimony should have been taken for carrying out a fine.   

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan previously said, "By making use of the state of emergency, we immediately intervene in workplaces that pose a threat of the strike," during a meeting with the country’s top capitalist organisations.