10 September, 2025YKK workers in Türkiye are still fighting for their right to collective bargaining, as the company continues to deny recognition of their union.
In June 2025, the Fair Labor Association published an audit confirming that YKK Turkey is violating workers' rights, making clear recommendations to remedy the situation. Yet the company has failed to act. Petrol-İş, the union representing YKK workers and IndustriALL affiliate, is now urging global brands that rely on YKK to intervene and ensure the recommendations are implemented.
In August 2025, Petrol-İş met with brand compliance officers to press for concrete action. At the meeting, the union emphasized that the fundamental labour rights of YKK Turkey workers has been systematically violated and demanded an end to the company’s hostile stance towards union members. Petrol-İş urged the brands to take responsibility by insisting that these violations be eliminated. In response, brands stated that they would raise these concerns directly with YKK management, making them a key item on the agenda of their upcoming discussions.
This ongoing dispute stems from a flawed process dating back to 2024. After organizing a majority of YKK's roughly 670 workers, Petrol-İş secured official recognition from Türkiye's Ministry of Labour and Social Security in May of that year. Instead of engaging with the union, YKK management responded with union-busting tactics, including threats and coercion to force resignations. The company even announced unilateral improvements to working conditions in a move the union described as bad faith. Pressure on members escalated further, with unfounded disciplinary actions targeting leading organizers, prompting workers to hold peaceful demonstrations in July.
In August 2024, YKK created a management-controlled spokesperson committee to undermine Petrol-İş, while refusing to meet with the union. By September, the dispute had gained international attention, with IndustriALL sounding the alarm and YKK workers in Brazil and the UK sending solidarity messages.
The conflict deepened in early 2025. Dozens of workers resigned under pressure and in February a local court ruled against Petrol-İş in a sectoral dispute — a decision the union believes was deliberately engineered by YKK to delay recognition. Despite its global code of conduct, which explicitly pledges respect for freedom of association, the company has consistently refused to enter dialogue.
At the heart of the issue lies a loophole: YKK is officially registered under the metal sector, while workers can only affiliate through Türkiye's e-government system with unions in the petroleum-chemistry-rubber sector, such as Petrol-İş. This misclassification has allowed YKK to block collective bargaining for two years, despite guarantees under international law. Until this loophole is resolved and genuine negotiations begin, YKK workers in Türkiye remain locked out of their fundamental rights.
Mehmet Kaya, general financial secretary of Petrol-İş and former Thrace Local Head, who played a key role in organizing at YKK, said:
“YKK Turkey workers exercised their constitutional right to unionize, yet management responded with pressure instead of respecting their rights and recognizing collective bargaining. This anti-union stance has created unrest, undermined industrial peace and left workers living in constant fear of dismissal, with serious impacts on their families. Such hostility is unacceptable. YKK workers deserve dignity, job security and a decent working environment and we call on YKK Global Management to ensure these rights are respected without delay.”
IndustriALL general secretary, Atle Høie, said:
“It is unacceptable that YKK continues to deny workers in Türkiye their fundamental right to collective bargaining. Freedom of association is not optional — it is guaranteed under international law and YKK must respect it in practice, not just in words. We stand firmly with Petrol-İş and the workers and we call on YKK's global management and the brands it supplies to ensure these rights are upheld without further delay.”