The workers, who have been dismissed by İzmir Metropolitan Municipality because of seeking their rights, wanted to protest authorities on November 13. Yet, the Governorship of İzmir prevented the workers' protest on the pretext of state of emergency declared by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) after the last year's failed coup.
The workers, who have been dismissed because they filed a staff and additional payment claim against the Municipality, continue their struggle for justice.
They would have staged a sit-in in front of the metropolitan municipality headquarter on Monday. However, the Governorship banned the protest on the pretext of the fact that 'the protest was unpermitted' and 'the country is in a state of emergency'.
Speaking to the journalists, one of the workers Mahir Kılıç said that the Municipality continues to dismiss the workers, and added: "Aziz Kocaoğlu [the Mayor of İzmir] has stripped the workers of their jobs without batting an eye. Although we negotiated with dozens of deputies and bureaucrats in this process, we could not provide a solution. Is Kocaoğlu more important than the people of Izmir and CHP?"
In the last six months, at least 215 workers working at sub-contractor companies of the Municipality have been dismissed.
During the state of emergency in Turkey, many workers' protest or strike have been banned and deemed illegal by the ruling AKP.
According to a report workers' protests in 2016 were decreased by 30% compared to the previous years. In the same period, the duration of the protests was diminished, and the number of long-term demonstrations was decreased. In the first half of 2016, the monthly average of workplace-based protests was 53 percent, while this figure decreased 34 percent after the declaration of state of emergency.
