German union ver.di is sending a delegation to Turkey in support of the workers sacked by DHL Turkey in 2012.
The solidarity visit, the second in three months, will take place from 3-5 February. This support is particularly important to the dismissed workers and their union Tumtis as DHL Turkey is part of Deutsche Post DHL and ver.di has a collective agreement with the parent company.
Andrea Kocsis, deputy chairman of ver.di, said: “We expect the management of Deutsche Post DHL urgently to find a constructive solution to this dispute with Tumtis.
“Since the start of this year, DHL Turkey has tried a new form of repression, to force employees to join a newly-formed union. We expect Deutsche Post DHL to force DHL Turkey to recognise that workers have the right to join a union of their choice and to accept this fact, along with a policy of social partnership. A first step is to reinstate the dismissed union members and for dialogue to take place.”
Ingo Marowsky, ITF global head, supply chain and logistics, said: “We commend ver.di for their continued support of Tumtis' struggle. DHL needs to understand that this dispute will not go away. The global trade union family will continue to support its Turkish brothers and sisters until the dispute is resolved in the way that the ver.di delegation and Tumtis demand."
This visit follows shortly after the labour court in Istanbul had decided two more cases in favour of workers sacked by DHL Turkey. Since the union started organising in the company with the aim of winning a collective agreement, DHL Turkey has dismissed more than 20 union members for alleged poor performance.
