30 March, 2012Serious violations of workers' rights continue at Trexta in Turkey, a supplier for Apple, Nokia, Blackberry, Samsung, Dell and other electronics companies. The International Labour Rights Forum (ILRF) is mobilizing supporters to demand that Apple investigate allegations of labour rights abuses at the company, and force Trexta to reinstate workers fired for trying to form a union.
TURKEY: The International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF) urges supporters to sign the International Labour Rights Forum (ILRF) petition and stand with Turkish workers fighting to organize at Trexta.
Trexta has made its workers' lives a living hell by forcing employees to work 30 hours non-stop without notice, discriminating against women who don't ask for permission to get pregnant, and threatening workers when they raise safety concerns. To date, Trexta has fired 32 employees for organizing a union at the Çerkezköy facility in Turkey.
Serap Yazgac, a young worker at Trexta, decided she needed a union after she was severely burned by an industrial iron at a Trexta facility in Turkey. The manufacturing iron fell on her hand and stuck for several minutes before someone pulled it from her burning skin. Help could have come sooner but management had removed an emergency button, claiming that workers would misuse it. The company then refused to pay for Serap's emergency care.
When Serap returned to work she was determined to make sure this accident never happened again, but when she tried to join a union to improve safety at Trexta she was fired without any valid reason.
Apple claims it is investigating the situation but Serap and her coworkers haven't heard from Apple. Apple must demand that Trexta immediately reinstate all unfairly fired workers and recognize the workers' right to form a union.
From the exploitation of workers at Foxconn in China to that of the workers at Trexta in Turkey, Apple must get to the source of the labour rights issues within its supply chain.