Workers not protected during pandemic, says trade union

While the number of Covid-19 cases continues to increase in many provinces, ANF interviewed DISK Food-Business general secretary, Seyit Aslan.

Some 153 employees in the Dardanel Plant in Çanakkale have tested positive for Covid-19. Around 56 of them were treated at the hospital. The factory, however, continued closed production, ignoring all these.

The workers were almost taken hostage, so to speak. As this was happening, news of Vestel workers in Manisa started to come this time. Manisa Medical Chamber announced that around 1000 workers were infected. Sait Türek, chair of the Manisa Organized Industrial Zone (OSB), blamed the sick workers in the factories.

While the number of Covid-19 cases continues to increase in many provinces, ANF interviewed DISK (Confederation of Revolutionary Workers’ Unions) Food-Business general secretary, Seyit Aslan, who also closely monitors the Dardanel Factory.

Many Covid-19 cases occurred in Dardanel and Vestel Factories. How are factories taking precautions? How has job and worker safety control changed especially after the epidemic?

Despite the epidemic, employers are trying to maintain production. In order to do so, they claim to have taken all measures to prevent Covid-19 to spread in the workplace. Vestel and Dardanel had issued a statement saying that "the necessary conditions have been established in the workplace, there are hygiene conditions, all kinds of precautions have been taken. We have approval on this.” But this approval is not credible. Because it is not difficult for employers to get these documents. After all, it is not explained by whom and how these documents were given.

Therefore, the fact that such a document has been received does not mean that the measures against the epidemic have actually been taken. Likewise, after the developments in Dardanel, there was a statement issued by the employer saying that "We received this approval document long ago". Well, if this document was received, how could 153 employees tested positive to Covid-19 despite those precautions? How did 56 workers end up in the hospital? You claim that you have taken all the precautions, but almost 20% of the employees are infected with Covid-19. This also applies to Vestel. Since Dardanel produces food, it should be more careful and strictly observe hygiene conditions. Masks should be changed every two hours. As for Vestel, we are speaking relying on what the health authorities and Medical Chambers said. After all we have not seen the tests with our own eyes. It is said that there were over 1000 positive cases and also that some workers had died.

Have there ever been changes in working conditions with Covid-19?

Unfortunately, no. In Dardanel factory, nothing changed. The old system continues. Although there was a partial change in the production lines, when the production increases, the situation there continues as before. On the other hand, a worker can work from eight in the morning till 10 in the evening. So we really wander how these factories obtained the green light documents.

How is the situation in Dardanel?

The 15-day quarantine period is now over. Employees go to their homes. There was only a group of workers at the factory who objected during the quarantine process. For them there is now a quarantine implementation debate. But the process in Dardanel continues with an intense working rhythm. The only change is that the situation at Dardanel was reflected in the media and therefore discussed a lot. For this reason, workers felt that they were not alone. With Dardanel, we focus not only on the Covid-19 outbreak, but also on improving the working conditions of the workers beyond the epidemic period. We will also work towards reducing working hours, increasing wages, and increasing social rights.

So, apart from the Dardanel and Vestel cases, are you receiving the same or different complaints from other factories?

Dardanel is a place where we have no members. We have worked, but Dardanel has employees who are not unionised. We heard cases from many factories. There are complaints. We know that there are cases from the Tenderloin Meat Factory in Istanbul. There are workers who are quarantined in their homes. The understanding here is this: If you remember, Manisa Organized Industrial Zone Presidency claimed that it was workers who carried the virus to the Vestel factory. Employers' attitudes are the same in almost all businesses. There is such false rhetoric that workers outside catch the virus and infect their colleagues.

This is also the case for Dardanel. Believe me, Dardanel employees have no other activity than sleeping. They can only go home and sleep. They work 14 hours a day, plus have a 2-hour commuting time. And for women, the situation is even more difficult, because when they go home, they also have domestic labour to do.

When we look at the general picture, can we say that there are almost no measures to protect workers?

There were claims from the government that they managed this epidemic process very successfully. It was stated that we were one of the most exemplary countries in the world. Of course, the process they managed well perhaps was for the rich. They took every precaution for them, but it is not possible to state the same for the poor.

We remember that on a single day there was a governor saying they had detected 300 cases in one province alone, while data for the country on the same day was 987. Clearly someone is not telling the truth.

The real information should be disclosed to the public.