Unions demonstration attacked by police
Unions demonstration attacked by police
The march of KESK (Confederation of Public Laborer's Unions) members to parliament in Ankara which was organized to protest the so called "Law Bag” was not permitted and was attacked by police with pepper gas. The package is called "Law Bag" because a considerable number of laws have been squeezed inside.
The first act of KESK against the so called "Law Bag" has been staged today. According to the unions the "Law Bag makes the working conditions of labourers more difficult and reduces job security.
Within the context of the protest demonstrations, which are staged throughout Turkey in front of AKP (Justice and Development Party) province buildings, the demonstration in Ankara was made in Kýzýlay. The march intended from Kýzýlay to the parliament was however attacked by police with pepper gas.
The workers argued that the minimum wage was TL 600 (€ 300) and voiced their partially quite harsh criticism in slogans such as "Tayyip, you go and live on 600 lira", "Tayyip into the bag, workers to the power", "Government, take the law and forget about it" and "Resisting workers will win".
Last week DÝSK President Süleyman Çelebi had read out a press release in front of the Gezi Park in Taksim. "Whenever the AKP talks about the struggle against unemployment, the encouragement by investors, public seizures for the workers and the plundering of funds established for the unemployed come to the agenda, Çelebi argued. He described the Bag Law as yet another attack on the rights of the workers.
Çelebi pointed to the fact that Turkey is one of the countries with the longest working hours in international comparison. Turkish workers work ten hours more per week than their colleagues in the rest of Europe. Wages and leave entitlement on the other hand are very low in comparison. Çelebi criticized that under the disguise of a few well-designed articles, the law comprised a number of articles seizing the workers' rights.
"The AKP government combines the exploitation of cheap labour, a way of trimming of workers' and labourers' rights, the expectations of a broad section of society and the seizure of the workers in one law. The law exiles permanent employees. It includes tax amnesty, amnesty of students (who were expelled from university) and an improvement of pensions on one hand; on the other hand the law also provides a flexibility that means more exploitation, lack of security for young people, decreased payments for trainees and apprentices and contracting. Additionally, it comprises tax reductions for managers, incitements and supports".
Translation: Berna Ozgencil
The first act of KESK against the so called "Law Bag" has been staged today. According to the unions the "Law Bag makes the working conditions of labourers more difficult and reduces job security.
Within the context of the protest demonstrations, which are staged throughout Turkey in front of AKP (Justice and Development Party) province buildings, the demonstration in Ankara was made in Kýzýlay. The march intended from Kýzýlay to the parliament was however attacked by police with pepper gas.
The workers argued that the minimum wage was TL 600 (€ 300) and voiced their partially quite harsh criticism in slogans such as "Tayyip, you go and live on 600 lira", "Tayyip into the bag, workers to the power", "Government, take the law and forget about it" and "Resisting workers will win".
Last week DÝSK President Süleyman Çelebi had read out a press release in front of the Gezi Park in Taksim. "Whenever the AKP talks about the struggle against unemployment, the encouragement by investors, public seizures for the workers and the plundering of funds established for the unemployed come to the agenda, Çelebi argued. He described the Bag Law as yet another attack on the rights of the workers.
Çelebi pointed to the fact that Turkey is one of the countries with the longest working hours in international comparison. Turkish workers work ten hours more per week than their colleagues in the rest of Europe. Wages and leave entitlement on the other hand are very low in comparison. Çelebi criticized that under the disguise of a few well-designed articles, the law comprised a number of articles seizing the workers' rights.
"The AKP government combines the exploitation of cheap labour, a way of trimming of workers' and labourers' rights, the expectations of a broad section of society and the seizure of the workers in one law. The law exiles permanent employees. It includes tax amnesty, amnesty of students (who were expelled from university) and an improvement of pensions on one hand; on the other hand the law also provides a flexibility that means more exploitation, lack of security for young people, decreased payments for trainees and apprentices and contracting. Additionally, it comprises tax reductions for managers, incitements and supports".
Translation: Berna Ozgencil
