Work at three factories owned by Turkish glass group Sise ve Cam Fabrikalari AS (SiseCam) has stopped after police emptied the plants after labour protests, union Kristal-Is said recently.
The union …
Work at three factories owned by Turkish glass group Sise ve Cam Fabrikalari AS (SiseCam) has stopped after police emptied the plants after labour protests, union Kristal-Is said recently. The union said the protests at SiseCam“s decision to fire eight workers without compensation were at flat glass producer Trakya Cam, glassware unit Kirklareli and vehicle windows specialist Trakya Oto Cam. SiseCam officials were not immediately available for comment. The eight employees lost their jobs after taking part in a one-day strike organized on 13 August by leading labour confederation Turk-Is in protest at the government“s social security reform bill, union officials added. However, Trakya Cam said there had been no halt in production. The flat glass producer said work continued in two of its factories where security forces have barred unionized workers from entering. In a statement sent to the Istanbul Stock Exchange, Trakya Cam blamed labour union Kristal-Is for organizing an illegal strike after the firm fired eight union members for unauthorized labour action. It said work at the two plants, Trakya Cam and auto window maker Trakya Oto Cam, continued with temporary and non-union staff. Labour union Kristal-Is earlier said three factories, including the two belonging to Trakya Cam, itself owned by SiseCam, had stopped work as 2,100 union member workers were barred from entering the facilities by security forces due to the labour protests and after the union demanded the eight workers be reinstated. It was not clear what was happenning at the third factory, the small glassware maker Kirklareli, also owned by SiseCam. Most of the union workers are employed at Trakya Cam“s facilities. Trakya Cam blamed the union for violating its labour contract by having all of its members participate in the August 13 general strike, one-hour-long boycotts on 24 and 25 August and a full-day strike on 30 August. It said the strikes were illegal. The SiseCam group comprises more than 20 raw material, production, packaging and marketing firms as well as a brokerage house. The government“s social security bill, a key part of economic reforms pledged to the International Monetary Fund, was passed in late August, sharply raising retirement ages and the number of days for which workers must pay pension premiums.