The worsening economic hardship and uncontrolled increase in exploitation in Turkey have led to an increase in the number of trade union struggles. Workers affiliated with Petrol-İş, public sector workers, defense industry workers, and many others, all affiliated with the Türk-İş confederation of regime unions have taken up the struggle against declining living standards and eroding purchasing power.

Strikes Organized by Petrol-İş Members

In Gebze, 150 workers at Portakal Plastik, affiliated with Petrol-İş, went on strike on May 7, 2025, after the employer refused to increase wages by 52%, despite the workers’ demand for a 95% raise. The slogans chanted during the strike emphasized both the organized struggle and the refusal of the Turkish working class to accept its dire conditions. After 28 days, an agreement was reached, ending the strike, and workers’ wages were increased to an average net gross salary of 45,000 TL. Additionally, it was decided that an average 66% wage increase would be implemented in the first year, with an additional 3% increase in the second year based on the inflation rate. Furthermore, 11 days of net pay were granted for the duration of the strike, the number of annual bonuses was increased to 3 in the first year and 4 in the second year, and the overtime rate for weekdays was raised to 100%, while overtime for weekends and holidays was increased to 4 times the daily rate.

At the Soda Kromsan factory in Mersin, the Petrol-İş union had decided to go on strike on May 14 due to the lack of progress in the TIS negotiations. However, the parties reached an agreement in the collective labor contract signed on May 8, which includes a 73% wage increase for the first six months, an additional 3% increase based on inflation for the second six months of the first year, and an additional 2% increase based on inflation for each of the two six-month periods of the second year. In addition, a seniority increase of 1 TL was added to the hourly wage, raising the new hourly wage to 152.29 TL.

A collective bargaining agreement was signed at the Plascam factory in Kocaeli without 300 workers going on strike. Following the lump-sum increase of 10,000 TL, it was decided that the first year would see an 85% wage increase, and the second year would include an additional 3 percentage points on top of the inflation rate. With this adjustment, the average net wage at the factory has risen to 44,000 TL. The minimum wage for a newly hired worker will be 38,000 TL. In addition, workers will receive four bonuses per year in addition to their salaries. Social rights were increased by between 93% and 217%. These social rights will be calculated based on net salaries.

As can be seen from the last two examples, the bourgeoisie is now afraid of what the working class, which is engaged in a more active struggle, is capable of. TPI Compozit workers, who are organized by Petrol-İş, went on strike on May 13 after rejecting the employer’s offer of a 30 percent wage increase in response to their demand for a 120 percent increase. While the strike continues, TPI workers are also demanding improved working conditions and private health insurance. To call the conditions in which TPI workers labor “humane,” one would have to be a bourgeois economist. Workers in the main production unit are not only forced to work for four hours straight without a break but also lack the necessary equipment to protect their health. It is hardly surprising that the Pulmonology Department of the hospital near the factory is overflowing with TPI workers. As if all this were not enough, when managers detect any illness among workers, they first suggest a department transfer. If the worker refuses and has been employed for less than three years, they are dismissed with a lower seniority wage and no severance pay. The situation is similar in other units of the factory. A worker from the Enercon Finish department mentioned that workers who contract any illness are called to work shifts and pushed to the point of quitting. The TPI workers’ strike is still ongoing.

Workers affiliated with the Petrol-İş union in Dilovası and İzmir went on strike on May 22 after the employer rejected their demand for a 117% wage increase under the collective bargaiaining agreement, offering only a 60% increase. The company, which generated 2.4 billion in revenue, allocated only 8% of its profits to its workforce – a stark example of the immense wealth created by capitalism and the inevitable poverty it brings. While the strike was ongoing, DYO workers, TPI workers, and Temel Conta workers, who have been fighting since January, joined forces in Çiğli. For the bourgeoisie, there is nothing more terrifying than workers chanting slogans like “Long live class solidarity” and “There is no liberation alone, either all together or none of us.” DYO workers also achieved the result of this organized struggle with the collective bargaining agreement signed on July 4. In addition to securing a 73% wage increase, they gained many more social rights. This strike should show us and many other sections of the working class that the united struggle of the working class is one of the greatest weapons in our fight against capital.

Due to the failure of negotiations between Toros Tarım, which has factories in Adana and Mersin, and Petrol-İş regarding the collective bargaining agreement, a total of 213 workers went on strike on May 21. The 52% wage increase offered by the employer kept workers below the poverty line. Almost all workers are complaining about the growing difficulties in making ends meet. While the bourgeoisie lives in abundance and prosperity, condemning the workers they employ to poverty is nothing but a manifestation of their parasitic nature. The workers at Toros Tarım, as a segment of the working class that has embraced class solidarity, also made sure to convey their support for workers participating in other ongoing strikes. The strike at Toros Tarım is still ongoing.

The Struggle of Public Sector Workers

The government’s imposition of a 16 percent wage increase on public sector workers under the Public Sector Framework Protocol (KÇP) was met with a backlash. While workers are struggling to survive under capitalism, the government has offered them a ridiculous amount. We are not the only ones saying this; the workers think the same way.

“They are mocking us. This offer clearly means go on strike. The end result will be a strike”...

In response, the organized power of the workers sprang into action. In Bağcılar, in front of the Epitim and Research Hospital

The Istanbul branch of the Social Services Workers’ Union held a press conference. Workers carrying banners reading “We reject poverty wages; we want to live like human beings” voiced their demands for a decent life, unconditional transfer rights, and equal pay for equal work. Reactions poured in against the government’s KÇP process. Nedime Mutlu Yıldırım, President of the Istanbul Branch of the Health Workers’ Union, stated that the government had been stalling workers for three months and had disregarded workers with the wage increase it offered.

Yıldırım emphasized that workers are the ones who keep the public sector running, saying, “This fact must be clearly understood: This issue is not just about public sector workers; it concerns everyone. The public must not remain silent in the face of this injustice and the resulting disruptions in public services.”

In the third month of KÇP and TİS negotiations, the government’s 16 percent offer fell short of the 15.09 percent inflation rate for the past five months, according to TÜİK data. Workers affiliated with Türk-İş and Hak-İş reacted to this situation and are pushing union leaders to take action. While Türk-İş emerged with an action plan, Hak-İş only demanded the signing of the protocol. Despite being detained by the governor’s office, unions affiliated with Türk-İş made statements in many parts of the country. At the call of Sağlık-İş, many healthcare workers in public hospitals voiced their demands.

Reactions poured in against Hak-İş, and workers called for escalating the struggle. Workers staged a protest that turned into a large rally in front of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, opposing the Turkish Heavy Industry and Services Sector Public Employers’ Union (TÜHİS) proposal of a 16% poverty wage increase, demanding a decent standard of living. As Turkish-İş General President Ergün Atalay delivered his speech, slogans such as “Action, action” echoed among the workers. Demonstrating their determination and commitment to the struggle, they chanted slogans like “If negotiations end, the struggle begins” and “This will end with a strike.”

Even 107 days after Hak-İş and Türk-İş submitted their draft proposal to the government, the only response was press statements. Hak-İş’s sole reaction was to demand that the KÇP process be concluded immediately. What a worker-friendly union! Seeing this, workers resigned from Öz Sağlık-İş in protest against the union’s passive stance. A worker said, “The contract was signed in April, but we still haven’t received the raises. The authorized union never came to the site, never informed us. We didn’t even know what was demanded in the contract. Why aren’t you using the workers’ power at the negotiating table? Why are you condemning us to the KÇP?” Another worker said, “They said we got the 40-hour workweek we demanded in April, but there’s no 40 hours. They didn’t include overtime hours in the contract. That’s why the employer isn’t implementing the 40-hour week; they say they increased break times.” Last week, the Health-Workers Union made a press statement despite not being authorized. They spoke out for the KÇP. Many workers came here – was that so bad? We call it an action, but when we say ‘action,’ they act as if we’re cursing them.”

A worker expressing his reaction to the KÇP said, “The contract was signed in April in Çapa,

but we still haven’t benefited from the raises. The authorized union hasn’t come to the site even once, hasn’t informed us. We didn’t even know what was demanded in the contract. The contract signed at the table – why aren’t you using the workers’ power? Why are you condemning us to the KÇP?” Another worker said, “They said we got the 40-hour workweek we demanded in April, but there’s no 40 hours. They didn’t include overtime hours in the contract. That’s why the employer isn’t implementing the 40-hour week; they say they increased break times.” Last week, the Health-Workers Union made a press statement despite not being authorized. They spoke about the KÇP. Many workers came here – was that so bad? We call it an action, but when we say action, they act as if we’re cursing them.” When it comes to workers, the bourgeois government disregards even its own laws!

In response to these reactions, the government representative at the Public Framework Protocol (KÇP) negotiations, the Turkish Heavy Industry and Services Sector Public Employers’ Union (TÜHİS), announced today that it had increased its second wage hike offer by 1 percentage point to 17%. The additional 1 percentage point increase offered by the government amounts to only 12.5 lira per day. In some places, this does not even cover the price of a loaf of bread.

Workers interpreted this raise as a call to go on strike. The worker base called on the confederations to decide on a strike. In statements made in many places, workers emphasized that they were insistent on their decision to strike and fight, stressing that the government’s impositions were far from the reality of workers.

On July 6, a strike broke out in Izmir, and nearly 600,000 public servants called for struggle, saying, “This is the uprising of people who cannot survive.”

Harb-İş Workers

Social service workers are not the only victims of the collective bargaining agreement negotiations and the government’s imposed raises. One of the strongest indicators of a country’s imperial power is its investment in weapons. These arms investments constitute a large arms industry. A strike in the arms industry not only paralyzes the bourgeoisie’s national defense but also provokes a greater response than any other strike. Because the factories where the bourgeoisie produces the weapons to suppress the working class have been confronted by the working class as a class.

Defense industry workers are also feeling the effects of this economic crisis. Defense industry workers at the 1st Air Maintenance Factory Directorate in Eskişehir have stated that they can no longer make ends meet due to the uncertainty surrounding the collective bargaining process and the worsening economic conditions. Rents exceed their salaries, workers are forced to take on extra jobs, and they are being exploited even more to increase the bourgeoisie’s profits.

Unfortunately, nationalist prejudices among workers remain widespread. We are directly quoting the words of one factory worker: “The annual value added that my factory alone contributes to the country is 11.5 billion TL. Approximately 2,000 people work here. Each of us produces 5.5 million TL in added value. We only want 10% of this from the State. This would be enough for us to achieve prosperity. We haven’t received any inflation adjustments, and there’s no prosperity share. Our wages have eroded over time. If the defense industry isn’t addressed, there won’t be any skilled workers left".

The bourgeois State does not even deem 10% fit for workers. While workers struggle to survive on meager wages, every struggle for their rights pits them against the concepts of homeland and State. A worker who said he had to take on extra work to make ends meet said, "I have been working for 15 years. I have never experienced a period like this. Some go to car washes, others work as waiters at wedding halls, or in markets. It’s impossible to survive without extra work. This situation has gone beyond being just the workers’ problem; it’s become a social issue. Our central headquarters must immediately announce an action plan in response to this situation. They need to get us out into the streets.”

With the prolongation of the collective bargaining process, resignations have also begun to increase.

Eskişehir workers are not the only defense industry workers expressing their dissatisfaction with this situation. Workers from the Gölcük Military Shipyard, members of Kocaeli Harb-İş, marched to Gölcük City Square. During the march, slogans such as “Hit it, hit it, let Şimşek hear,” referring to the deeply unpopular Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek, “The workers are here, where is the government,” and “Government, wake up, take care of your workers” were chanted.

Şakir Akçer, President of the Kocaeli Branch of Harb-İş, said, "The world is moving in a new direction. While our surroundings are on fire, is it normal for workers producing for the development of the defense industry to struggle to make ends meet? How can defense industry workers not even pay their rent? We don’t know what to do with the wages we receive at the end of the month. We can’t even support our families for a week. We’re not asking anyone to give us medals. Just give us our rights. This is not a faint voice. Those of us who do this work earn wages that are just above the poverty line. We have set up our labor camp. Defense industry workers who produce helicopters and submarines earn wages that are just above the poverty line". he said.

However, Kocaeli is not the only shipyard boiling with the fire of rebellion. In Tuzla, Istanbul, and many other defense industry branches, workers are boiling with the fire of rebellion against poverty! The bourgeoisie is truly unmatched in creating the conditions that will bring about its own end. Freeing defense industry workers from regime unions is one of the best measures that can be taken against the approaching world war. This is true not only in Turkey but throughout the world. Of course, the bourgeoisie is aware of this, and the reason it is exerting incredible pressure on defense industry workers is that it can smell its own death.

There are two permanent solutions to all this poverty, exploitation, and the approaching imperialist war: either communism or the annihilation of all humanity.