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Turkish workers in Mersin port win collective bargaining rights
14 January 2010
A longstanding and bitter struggle at the Turkish port of Mersin paid off after unionists won a ground-breaking agreement, giving members bargaining rights for the first time.
Port drivers, represented by the ITF-affiliated transport union Türkiye Motorlu Tasit Isçileri Sendikasi (TUMTIS), signed an agreement on 21 December 2009, following a year-long battle against the anti-union land-side company, Akansel Nakliyat. Last year the company dismissed 192 workers for joining TUMTIS; union protests eventually led to their reinstatement.
Covering the period from 1 December 2009 until 20 November 2011, the agreement provides workers with a 22 per cent increase in pay in the first year; in the second year they are also set to receive an average 15 per cent rise in wages and social benefits. In addition, annual leave entitlement has been increased from 14 to 21 days and there are provisions to ensure that members’ jobs are secure. This is the first time ever that the drivers at Mersin port have secured collective bargaining rights.
A statement released by TUMTIS’s board of directors congratulated members and thanked the ITF, which has backed the union’s struggle. It said that the win at Mersin port “is not only for our members and our trade union; it is also a gain for the working class in Turkey.”
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