Trendyol warehouse workers taken into custody

Trendyol warehouse workers, who were dismissed without compensation under Code 46 because they were union members were taken into custody.

Trendyol Esenyurt warehouse workers, who were dismissed without compensation under Code 46 because they were unionized and could not find an interlocutor for 30 days, carried their resistance under the leadership of PTT-Sen and DGD-Sen in front of Trendyol General Directorate.

The police, who blockaded the front and surroundings of the directorate before the protest, tried to prevent the workers from making the statement. Despite all the obstacles, the workers managed to speak and call the Minister of Labor and Social Security to duty.

The action of Trendyol warehouse workers was supported by Green Left Party MP Kezban Konukçu, former HDP MP Musa Piroğlu, Nakliyat-İş chair Ali Rıza Küçükosmanoğlu, as well as many trade unions, political parties and democratic mass organizations.

'The law is not applied to bosses who steal our rights'

The workers explained the unlawfulness they experienced. Emre Özdek called for solidarity, emphasizing that they were reclaiming their rights. Özdek said: "Here we are portrayed as if we are usurpers and we are struggling to get something that we do not have the right to, rather than our rights. The bosses know how to hide behind the law and confront us with such a police army when it suits them. Because, of course, the law does not apply to bosses who steal our rights."

'I ask you, who is guilty now?'

18-year-old Muhammet Cengiz, another worker in the resistance, said: "Union is a right, dismissal is a crime. Denial of union rights is a crime. But when we try to defend these rights, we are beaten and detained. I'm asking you who is guilty now?"

DGD-Sen chair Neslihan Acar said: "We are resisting for our rights. Rights that we have earned by paying a heavy price."

Acar added: "If Trendyol wins the resistance, young people will win."

PTT-Sen chair Süleyman Şen underlined that the direct addressees of this problem are the Minister of Labor and Social Security and the Minister of Justice and said: “Ministers, why don't you send inspectors? Don't you want to scare away capital coming from China? You say union is a constitutional right. Where are you?”

Green Left Party MP Kezban Konukçu said that the party stands by all workers who resist and added: "Their resistance is our resistance. We will make your resistance known. We will make your voice heard. We support you."

'Solidarity is our only power'

Former HDP MP Musa Piroğlu said: "Everyone should hear and know that the voice of 14 workers here is the voice of millions. Their demand is the demand of the worker who is pushed into weakness and misery. The local and national governments are offering the blood and labor of the workers to the international capital. Solidarity is our only strength. We can stop this attack by solidarity. We have no choice but to support each other, we will win together."

12 workers taken into custody

The police attacked the trade unionists and workers who wanted to meet with Trendyol representatives. While 12 workers, including the chairs of PTT-Sen and DGD-Sen, were violently taken into custody, journalists who tried to film were beaten by the police and forcibly removed from the area.