Saturday, August 2, 2025
Nordic Monitor
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Extremism
  • Military
  • Terrorism and Crime
  • Intelligence
  • Foreign Policy
  • Contact Us
    • Give us a tip!
  • About Us
  • Home
  • Extremism
  • Military
  • Terrorism and Crime
  • Intelligence
  • Foreign Policy
  • Contact Us
    • Give us a tip!
  • About Us
No Result
View All Result
Nordic Monitor
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Extremism
  • Military
  • Terrorism and Crime
  • Intelligence
  • Foreign Policy
  • Contact Us
  • About Us

Erdoğan does not permit workers to strike on grounds of ‘national security’

January 25, 2023
A A
Erdoğan does not permit workers to strike on grounds of ‘national security’
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Levent Kenez/Stockholm

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan again prohibited workers from going on strike for reasons of “national security” with a decision published in the Official Gazette on Tuesday, making it the 20th strike that his government has banned since 2003.

Erdoğan announced that the strike called by the United Metal-İş Union at the European multinational Schneider Electric Company in the Çayırova district of Kocaeli province was postponed for 60 days, since it was seen as posing a threat to national security.

The workers and the company could not come to an agreement in their collective bargaining negotiations, and the union decided to call a strike.

Political observers criticize the fact that the president decides to allow or prohibit strikes on the local level, claiming that this is an indication of one-man rule. According to the Turkish constitution, the right to strike is protected, but since 1963 the state has had the right to ban or postpone walkouts. Without doubt the government that has banned the most strikes so far has been run by Erdoğan. A total of 20 decisions to go on strike that involved 250,000 workers were vetoed by the government.

However, Erdoğan’s strike postponement decisions have not been heeded by workers for a while now. With the 2023 elections fast approaching, the police will not take any action against striking workers in order to avoid tarnishing Erdoğan’s image, unlike in previous years.

So Schneider employees went on strike as announced on Tuesday. On December 13, 2022 the United Metal-İş Union made a decision for the workers at the Belgium Bekaert steel company in Kocaeli to go on strike, and as expected the strike was not allowed by Erdoğan on the grounds of national security. Despite this, the union went ahead with the walkout. The workers ended the strike by reaching an agreement with the company on December 31, the 18th day of the strike. Schneider employees are probably also following a similar pattern.

In 2018, at a meeting of the provincial chairs of his party, Erdoğan said, “With us, the events called ‘strikes’ have disappeared. No strikes now. ”

In another meeting addressing foreign investors on July 12, 2017, Erdoğan stated that a state of emergency declared in 2016 had also been to the benefit of employers and added, “When we took office, all factories were under the threat of a strike. Remember those days? But when there is the threat of a strike, we intervene immediately by taking advantage of the state of emergency.”

 

However, it looks as if Erdoğan’s approach to strikes has changed over time. Serving at the time as the Istanbul chair of the now-closed Welfare Party, Erdoğan in 1988 supported a strike by printing press workers and wore a smock with words of that support printed on it. A photograph taken during the strike was used in party publications as proof of Erdoğan’s favorable view of the workers.

Visiting the workers on the 28th day of the strike, Erdoğan also signed the workers’ memorial book. “In our country, especially after 1980, the governments are indifferent to workers’ rights and human dignity. As a requirement of our religion, we consider it a duty to be with them,” he wrote.

The Erdoğan government generally does not allow strikes in workplaces owned by foreign entities. The reason behind this includes the message that the government is on the side of the foreign owners rather than the workers. It is no secret that the deteriorating Turkish economy requires a large amount of foreign capital.  

However, Erdoğan last month decided to increase the minimum wage by 55 percent in order not to lose his popularity among workers before the presidential and parliamentary elections, which he announced would be held in May. Undoubtedly, balancing a crisis in the cost of living caused by high inflation lies behind this large increase. The opposition claims that one of the reasons for Erdoğan to hold elections in May instead of June as originally scheduled is to exploit the temporary financial well-being that workers and civil servants will experience with the sizable salary and wage increases.

ShareTweet
Previous Post

Top operative for Erdoğan’s long arm in Europe supported hate speech against dissidents abroad

Next Post

Turkey presses further on putting controversial oil and gas deal with Libya into force

Levent Kenez

Levent Kenez

[email protected]

Next Post
Turkey presses further on putting controversial oil and gas deal with Libya into force

Turkey presses further on putting controversial oil and gas deal with Libya into force

Erdogan gov’t pushes people to use ‘Next’ app as Turkey moves toward China-style digital control

Erdogan gov’t pushes people to use ‘Next’ app as Turkey moves toward China-style digital control

August 1, 2025
Turkey’s top appeals court rejects Greek nationals’ claim on Ottoman-era property

Turkey’s top appeals court rejects Greek nationals’ claim on Ottoman-era property

July 31, 2025
Turkey open to previously owned Eurofighter purchase amid urgent air force needs

Turkey needs stronger air force to counter Israel and Greece simultaneously, pro-gov’t think tank warns

July 30, 2025
Turkey forgives millions in debt for countries buying its weapons

Turkey forgives millions in debt for countries buying its weapons

July 29, 2025
Notorious ISIS commander wanted by INTERPOL received treatment in a Turkish state hospital, official document shows

Turkey refused to seek extradition of ISIS fugitives behind deadliest terror attack

July 28, 2025
Turkish judge at Europe’s top human rights court defends government’s false arguments during proceedings

Turkish judge again stands alone as Europe’s top human rights court condemns systemic abuses in Turkey convictions

July 25, 2025
US lawmakers target Turkey’s classification, triggering pushback from Erdogan gov’t

In today’s Turkey, threats to kill Americans and Jews are deemed protected free speech

July 24, 2025
Turkish court blocks indictment of Saudi al-Qaeda suspect for five years

Turkish court blocks indictment of Saudi al-Qaeda suspect for five years

July 23, 2025
Turkey continues assistance to Somali army to guarantee its presence in the country

Ankara likens Somalia to Syria, using military power to enhance its economic influence

July 22, 2025
Turkey’s top appeals court blocks extradition of drug trafficker to Sweden

Turkey’s top appeals court blocks extradition of drug trafficker to Sweden

July 21, 2025

Nordic Monitor

Nordic Monitor is a news web site and tracking site that is run by the Stockholm-based Nordic Research and Monitoring Network. It covers religious, ideological and ethnic extremist movements and radical groups, with a special focus on Turkey.

Tags

al-Qaeda Andrei Karlov China coup Cyprus Diyanet Egypt espionage Germany Greece Gülen Movement Hakan Fidan Hamas Hulusi Akar Ibrahim Kalın IHH Iran IRGC Quds Force ISIL ISIS Isis al-qaida Israel Libya Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu Milli İstihbarat Teşkilatı MIT Muslim Brotherhood NATO President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Profiling Qatar Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Russia SADAT spying Spying Activities Suleyman Soylu Sweden Syria Torture Turkey Turkish Intelligence Agency Turkish intelligence agency MIT Ukraine United States

Recent News

Erdogan gov’t pushes people to use ‘Next’ app as Turkey moves toward China-style digital control

Erdogan gov’t pushes people to use ‘Next’ app as Turkey moves toward China-style digital control

August 1, 2025
Turkey’s top appeals court rejects Greek nationals’ claim on Ottoman-era property

Turkey’s top appeals court rejects Greek nationals’ claim on Ottoman-era property

July 31, 2025
Turkey open to previously owned Eurofighter purchase amid urgent air force needs

Turkey needs stronger air force to counter Israel and Greece simultaneously, pro-gov’t think tank warns

July 30, 2025

Copyright © Nordic Research and Monitoring Network All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Extremism
  • Military
  • Terrorism and Crime
  • Intelligence
  • Foreign Policy
  • Contact Us
    • Give us a tip!
  • About Us

Copyright © Nordic Research and Monitoring Network All rights reserved.