Despite the announced inflation rates, which have seen a total of 1 trillion 167 billion TL drain from the pockets of working people in the first six months of the year in the form of taxes and inflation, the AKP regime has channelled the budget it was due to allocate to the public sector into the summit of the imperialist military organisation NATO, which was held yesterday in Ankara.

Workers have been dismissed across the country for attempting to seek their rights; demands for percentage wage increases that would not even reach the poverty line in collective bargaining agreements have been left on the table; the government and employers have remained silent in the face of the cost-of-living crisis and are content with non-unionised workplaces.

The biggest problem facing the country’s citizens, however, is the cost-of-living crisis. A few days ago in Dörtyol, Hatay, T.S., a street vendor with a mental disability, set himself alight in protest after municipal officers had repeatedly prevented him from carrying out various street trading activities. T.S. had been prevented from selling meatballs, then chickpeas; and when he was finally stopped by municipal officers from cleaning car windows, he ended his life by setting himself alight with petrol or white spirit he had obtained in the Dörtyol district of Hatay. It has emerged that T.S.’s mother is also ill and that he had been trying to make a living by working as a street vendor.

On the other hand, dozens of workers, who work below the hunger and poverty lines and wish to organise for a more comfortable working life, are fighting for their rights in front of their workplaces.

AĞAÇ INC. WORKERS BEGIN SIT-IN PROTEST

Workers at Ağaç Inc. a subsidiary of the IBB (Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality), who were dismissed as part of a security vetting process, have begun a sit-in protest at the IBB Bakırköy Annex Building to demand reinstatement.

Stating that the dismissals of 100 workers from Ağaç Inc. since 2022 under the "security vetting" conducted within the IBB are a political stance, the workers declared, "The dismissals are unlawful." The workers began their sit-in after stating that the Ağaç A.Ş. management was using stalling tactics. Among those dismissed are people who were 10 months away from retirement and others who were fired two months after suffering a work accident.

Mehmet Çak, President of the BTO (United Agriculture and Forestry Workers' Union), which is affiliated with DİSK (Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Türkiye), stated that 95 percent of the 100 dismissed workers are members of the BTO-Sen. He added that almost all of the dismissed workers were those who had participated in the Istanbul Saraçhane protests during the coup attempt against the IBB.

Calling for support for the sit-in they started at the IBB Annex Building, the workers said: "We have been given constant promises for a month, but not even the slightest progress has been made since then; no further statement has been made. We were told that the decision would be made by Mr. Yiğit Oğuz Duman, Advisor to the IBB President. For this reason, we came to the IBB Annex Building in Merter today to ask what has become of these promises. Here, we were first attacked by security guards, and now we are holding a sit-in inside the building; we will not leave until the meeting takes place and the promises made are fulfilled."

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IGNORED

Temel Gasket workers, who work under the Petrol-İş (Petroleum, Chemical and Rubber Industry Workers' Union of Türkiye), have completed their 575th day of the strike they initiated in Kemalpaşa, Izmir, for their wages and trade union rights. The workers, the majority of whom are women, have worked for years breathing toxic gas in factories without ventilation. Sinem Kaya, one of the workers, stated that they have won all legal proceedings, but the employer refuses to sit at the table for a collective bargaining agreement. Despite a court ruling of strike-breaking for the Temel Gasket strike, the employer has continued its practices.

Speaking on behalf of the workers, Kaya stated, "We will fight against lawlessness. We do not want charity. Workers have no real right to unionise. Still, we will not give up; we will continue the struggle. If we give up, our children will be condemned to exploitation in the future. The laws do not protect us," emphasising that the workers have not ceased their resistance. Kaya stated that the workers who used whistles during the strike were detained, but there was no sanction against the bosses who broke the strike and insulted the workers based on their identity as women.

Kaya pointed out that the workers were found to be in the right by the Ministry of Labour, but no effective sanctions have been applied yet. "In these 575 days, we understood why the boss looks down on us and why we are seen as slaves," she said, expressing that the workers have received no response to their strike. Still staying in the strike tent, the Temel Gasket workers continue their resistance with the same determination as on the first day.

WE WILL CONTINUE THE STRUGGLE

A strike banner was hung at the Korteks Factory, owned by Zorlu Holding and located in the Nilüfer Organised Industrial Zone in Bursa.

Textile workers organised under the TEKSİF (Textile, Knitting and Clothing Industry Workers' Union of Türkiye) are demanding that the boss returns to the table in the stalled collective bargaining negotiations.

In recent months, collective bargaining negotiations at the Korteks Mensucat (Textile) Factory became deadlocked. Textile labourers who are members of the Teksif union spent the last few weeks holding warning protests in front of the factory during shift changes. A banner was hung this morning at the factory where a strike decision had been taken.

In a statement made from Teksif's social media account, it was noted: "The Korteks labourers, who are fighting to get the return for their labour, for a wage to live humanely, and for fair working conditions, have taken their places taken to the picket line in unity and solidarity. We will resolutely continue our struggle until our rightful demands are met and a fair collective bargaining agreement is signed. We are strong together; we will win by resisting."

LISTEN TO OUR DEMANDS

Workers at the AFP, who went on strike in February after collective bargaining negotiations were deadlocked, are continuing their strike on its third day.

Media employees of the Agence France-Presse (AFP), affiliated with the Journalists' Union, hung a "This Workplace Is on Strike" banner at their place of employment. In a statement made on behalf of the media employees in front of the AFP office in Şişli, Istanbul, a call was made to the employer, urging them not to prolong the process any further.

The statement included the following: "We are told that prices will rise by 54 percent from our most basic to our most essential needs, but if we want a pay rise, we should ask for it based on 30 percent. This great injustice experienced in Türkiye starts right here. The state commits disinformation by hiding the truth, but sends us journalists, who try to convey the truth to the public, to prison by accusing us of committing disinformation. We address the employer: Come, listen to our rightful demands, and let us end this process before it prolongs any further."

Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Haklıyız ve biz kazanacağız, published in BirGün newspaper on July 8, 2026.