Labour Party (EMEP), Turkey

Turkey’s Council of State has temporarily delayed a Cabinet decision that required former TEKEL workers to find new work within 30 days. Coming on the eve of the grace period’s expiration date, the court’s move is a victory for the workers.

Workers from TEKEL, the former state-owned alcohol and tobacco monopoly, officially became unemployed on Jan. 31 after the government closed the state-owned TEKEL units that were not privatised under a controversial new law regulating public employees’ working conditions.

The government paid workers their severance and gave them a month to find work at other public institutions as per Article 4/c, which gives affected workers the status of public employees but with lower wages and fewer employee rights. But, The Tobacco, Drink, Food and Allied Workers' Union, (Tek-Gida Is), applied to the administrative court to annul the implementation.

The month granted by the government expires Tuesday and the decision from the Council of State has given hope to the TEKEL workers.

In its statement, the court said the Cabinet’s ruling, which puts a limit on the workers’ transfer, is not in accordance with Turkish law.

With the decision, TEKEL workers’ rights to transfer to the 4/c status will be delayed until the government identifies a new time schedule. TEKEL workers will also continue to receive their severance pay.

The workers have been protesting in front of the Confederation of Turkish Labour Unions (Turk-Is) headquarters in Ankara for over two months in anger at the government’s refusal to meet their demands.

TEKEL’s privatisation obliges the workers to either quit their jobs or accept work in another state institution with lower wages and fewer benefits. The workers will be employed in temporary positions at other public institutions under Article 4/c of Law No. 657, which they say will result in a significant reduction in wages, in some cases nearly half, as well as a loss of most of their employee rights.

TEKEL workers are demanding that the transfer occur without any financial or social loss to employees.
The resistance of TEKEL workers had been evolved into a general struggle of all workers and labourers in Turkey against the AKP government. A general strike called by four big trade union confederations and several demonstrations organised to support TEKEL workers, during their struggle.