After August, which saw some heightened struggles on behalf of workers, October saw a relative intensification of class struggles in Turkey.

The first of these struggles was the factory occupation launched on October 5 by Bekaert workers, who had gone on strike despite the government ban in the first half of 2023 and had won a partial victory (see “Bekaert Strike Despite Strike Ban”, Komünist Parti, n. 2). The workers of the Bekaert factory in Izmit, who are members of Birleşik Metal (DİSK), had been organizing protests for some time, recently demanding an additional raise. In response, the Bekaert boss gave an additional raise to the workers of the company’s Kartepe factory who are members of Öz Çelik İş (Hak-İş) and did not protest, and fired the Birleşik Metal representative at the Izmit factory. In opposition, 200 day-shift workers occupied the factory. When 200 night-shift workers were prevented from entering the factory by the company, they started protesting outside the factory. Production in the factory came to a complete halt; however, the workers were forced to end the occupation on October 7 because the company prevented workers from accessing food. The workers returned to work on the same day, announcing that they would continue their struggle until their dismissed coworkers are rehired and their other demands met.

There were also protests in Izmir and Gebze on October 5 against the government’s plan to cut workers’ severance pay. In Izmir, some 2,000 workers gathered with the call of DİSK. In Gebze, 1,000 workers gathered at the call of the Gebze Trade Union Platform, which includes grassroots trade union confederations such as DİSK and KESK, as well as regime trade union confederations such as Birleşik Kamu-İş, Türk-İş and Hak-İş.

On October 6, Birleşik Metal workers in 42 factories owned by companies belonging to the employers’ organization MESS (Metal Industrialists’ Union) staged a one-hour strike demanding an additional 30% raise. In contrast, the regime unions of the metal sector, Türk Metal (Türk-İş) and Öz Çelik İş (Hak-İş), consider the government’s 3,000 lira raise to be sufficient. On October 13, Birleşik Metal members once again went on a one-hour strike and stopped working overtime until the meeting between MESS and Birleşik Metal on October 25. On October 20, United Metal members planned to once again go on a one-hour warning strike. They have continued these warning strikes every Friday.

Finally, on October 17, 10,000 İZENERJİ workers, members of Genel İş (DİSK), went on strike over unpaid bonuses from the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality. Izmir Metropolitan Municipality workers, especially İZENERJİ and İZELMAN workers, which employs employs 7,000 workers, have been struggling for their vested rights for months (see “A New Wave of Workers’ Struggles in Turkey”, The Communist Party, n. 3 and “August 16 Public Strike”, The Communist Party, n. 5).

Unless the above-mentioned struggles lead to a more generalized and intense period of strikes in Turkey, they are unlikely to result in gains. In particular, the workers of DİSK continue to play a leading role in the class struggle in Turkey. But the strategy of the regime unions, as well as the opportunist leaders of grassroots unions like DİSK and KESK, to settle for one-hour or one-day warning strikes must be exposed. Moreover, the insipid platforms that bring together the rank-and-file unions and the regime unions do not promise any future for the class struggle, and rather than arousing the workers who are members of the regime unions, they give the leaders of DİSK and KESK, who are already prone to token or symbolic actions, an excuse not to take action. On the contrary, DİSK and KESK should give a shoulder to the grassroots unions outside their own ranks. These unions, though small today, are trying to organize in precarious sectors where DİSK has insufficient presence or none at all. Such an alliance, a united front from below, if it follows a consistent and courageous line of struggle, will also become a pole of attraction for workers who are members of the regime unions.