Belediye workers in 4 districts in the Anatolian side of Istanbul have continued their strike action as they did not get the results they desired from the collective bargaining negotiations between the unions and the municipality.
Following the announcement made by the 4 branches of the unions in Istanbul that do not accept the collective bargaining agreement signed with the Genel-İş Union affiliated with DİSK, stating that they will start an indefinite strike action starting from this morning, disruptions in municipal services were experienced in Kartal, Ataşehir, Maltepe, and Kadıköy.
As part of the strike by the cleaning workers, garbage piles were formed around containers in some neighborhoods of these districts. Residents and tradespeople in Kartal complained about the situation and said that while they cleaned up the neighborhood market on their own, the workers’ rights should be fulfilled.
Moreover, after the 4 districts, the members of the Hizmet-İş Union working for Beykoz Municipality also decided to go on strike. The collective bargaining negotiations between the Hizmet-İş Union and the Association of Social Democrat Public Employers (SODEMSEN), of which the Beykoz Municipality Public Market Enterprises and Trade Co. is a member, did not yield any results.
As a result, the Hizmet-İş Union General Board of Directors announced that they will start the strike on Friday, November 8. The union members have shown their determination to continue the strike until their demands are met.
The strike of the workers at Kartal Municipality continued, and after the announcement of the resolution of the collective bargaining agreement by the Genel-İş Union Headquarters affiliated with DİSK, the 4 branches of the Genel-İş Union in Istanbul, in a joint statement made in front of Kartal Municipality building last night, announced that they have started an indefinite strike action.
Speaking during the announcement, the President of the Genel-İş Istanbul Anatolian Side Branch No. 3, Özer Ersan Değirmenci, stated that they do not accept the collective bargaining agreement signed by the CHP Headquarters and the Genel-İş Union Headquarters. He emphasized that they had prepared this agreement with the workers and they will be the ones to sign it. He also stated that they will continue their protest until a new agreement is reached and announced the start of the indefinite strike action from Monday morning.
