Turkish communists give support to McDonald's workers

TKP is working to publicize the McDonald’s strike that started in the UK in the beginning of this week among McDonald’s workers in Turkey
Saturday, 09 September 2017 18:31

Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) is working to publicise the McDonald’s strike that started in the UK at the beginning of this week among McDonald’s workers in Turkey.

While the McDonald’s workers strike continues in the UK, TKP prepared a leaflet to inform the companies’ workers in Turkey about the strike. TKP has been distributing the leaflets in McDonald’s restaurants across the country. The leaflet titled "Have You Heard? McDonald’s Workers are on Strike" explains the strike in the UK and workers’ demands. Examining closer the working conditions and exploitation of McDonald’s and other fast food workers, it emphasises getting organised to change these conditions.

McDonald’s has over 1 million workers worldwide, 85 thousand of which are in the UK. Now, these workers are on strike to increase hourly wages, to get union membership rights and to be able to prevent their bosses from saying, "you don’t need to come tomorrow" whenever they want.

The leaflet continues explaining the working conditions in Turkey: "In our country over 200 thousand fast-food workers are employed without job security or protection, standing up for long hours and with low pay. Hourly wages start from 7 lira [2 USD] on average, overtime work hours can be as high as 9 hours a day, and there is no paid weekend."

Even under these conditions, workers are expected to be always fast, never getting tired and always smiling. Since everywhere is being monitored with cameras, to sit down for five minutes of rest or having a glass of coke from the fridge can lead to getting fired.

The leaflet describes the situation as ' "service with a smiling face" in front of the kitchen, brutal exploitation behind…’

While workers are heavily exploited, bosses make an annual turnover of 6 billion lira [1,760000 USD] on average. Making money becomes faster too, of course, in a faster world with faster food culture and workers, but only in the world of bosses.

"THE SOLE REMEDY IS GETTING ORGANIZED"

What happens in both places is same: exploitation. And who is responsible is same: capitalists, no matter where you are, in the UK, in Germany, in Turkey or some other country of the world.

"The only way to stop this exploitation in every country is the same, and that is getting organised and moving together," the leaflet added.

"TKP is working with this goal today, on our 97th anniversary. It says that this system must change and a new order should be established for the fast-food workers, sanitation workers, metal workers and textile workers… Let’s save our country from this damned system. Let's create a Turkey where unfairness, inequality, injustice and exploitation disappear."

"We can do it if we unite."

"THIS IS OUR JOB"

TKP central committee member Gülçin Uz spoke to soL about this issue and said, "the wheel of exploitation shows its face in every example, no matter which country of the world. McDonald’s is only one example. TKP is moving forward knowing that a social movement in any corner of the world would also have repercussions in our country."

McDonald’s employers they encounter during the distribution of leaflets explain how they struggle for life under the same or even worse conditions than the UK workers. While the hourly wage is 10 sterling in the UK, it is only 7 lira in Turkey, she adds.

These kinds of activities are critical to show workers the bare truth that they are not alone; that they face the same kind of harsh conditions in every corner of the world; and therefore, they have a mutual interest.

TKP is working to share the experiences of working classes of different countries and to unite the class struggle across the world. When we celebrate our 97th anniversary this year with the slogan of "We want the necessary and the possible, not the impossible", we mean exactly this, Uz said. “Because the only way out of this system for both McDonald’s workers and other workers who are condemned to perish day by day in different sectors is getting organised and changing this system."

"TKP’s job is this. We are doing it properly, and we will keep doing it."