However, President Erdoğan issued a decree citing national security and public health concerns, forcing the strike to be postponed for 60 days. It is assumed that the decree was initiated by Bekaert management. The postponement of the strike is tantamount to a ban.
Bekaert Turkey produces steel wire for tyres. National security concerns are clearly a pretext to prevent the strike and violate workers' rights. Issuing a Presidential decree to ban strikes and circumvent workers’ fundamental rights happens every so often in Turkey.
International trade union solidarity and press event, 22 December 2022
European workers' representatives, IndustriALL Global Union and industriAll European Trade Union will hold a solidarity event with Bekaert workers in Turkey, including a press conference, on 22 December at 10:00 CET.
The hybrid event will take place in front of the factory gate in Izmit and online.
Representatives of the European Works Council of Bekaert, IndustriALL Global’s deputy general secretary Kemal Özkan, industriAll Europe’s General Secretary Luc Triangle and workers representatives from Belgium, Spain and Slovakia have confirmed their participation.
N.V. Bekaert S.A. is a global company headquartered in Belgium. It operates in 45 countries and employs 28,000 workers worldwide.
Photo credit: DISK