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Sacked workers return to Mersin Port

17 June 2009

The last group of sacked Turkish workers returned to work at Mersin International Port (MIP) last week (June 10), marking the successful resolution of a labour dispute.

Union members of ITF affiliate, TUMTIS, set up a picket line after the port’s subcontractor started to sack and intimidate workers who supported the union. Since January 2009, more than 200 port drivers and loaders have been dismissed, more than 40 per cent of the workforce.

The port loading company, Akan-Sel Nakliyat, claimed the dismissals were for economic reasons, but union members were targeted after TUMTIS started to organise in October 2008.

TUMTIS sustained its picket line since January in support of the sacked workers.

The ITF assisted the dispute with continued cross-sectional cooperation between the dockers and road transport sections. ITF campaign actions included:

Contacting the parent company in Singapore
Asking road transport and dockers’ unions to express their solidarity
Lobbying the Turkish government to intervene.

The ETF set up meetings for the union with MEPs and human rights experts in the Commission. David Cockroft, general secretary of the ITF, wrote to the management of Akan-Sel Nakliyat as well as the port management company expressing his concerns.

Mac Urata, Inland Transport Section secretary visited Mersin at the height of the dispute, where he met with the management and greeted workers at the picket line. Urata said: “The solidarity of the workers was overwhelming. It put pressure on the company, widening the divisions of the labour policy within the management, and brought victory to the union".

The union and company negotiated the return of the workers after a major clash between the picketers and the police, who MIP brought in on 6 May. The mayor of Mersin intervened to bring both parties to the table. The company quickly agreed to transfer all employees of Akan-Sel to the new sub-contractor, including those who were dismissed. The workers returned in several phases. The union maintained the picket line until the last worker returned to work.

MIP started as a non-union port since it won the concession in 2007. It is a joint venture between multinational operator, PSA and Turkish firm, Afken.

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