Turkey: Trade Unions Worldwide Show Their Solidarity with Sacked Turkish UPS Workers

In response to reported intimidation and sackings of workers who opted to join Turkey’s TÜMTIS trade union, an international action day coordinated by the ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation) is being held today. Since April 2010, 157 employees of UPS Turkey have been dismissed without any application of the procedures specified by Turkish law.

All of the dismissed workers are union members or were interested in union representation. Solidarity actions have been taken worldwide with many trade unionists protesting in front of national UPS offices in Australia, Japan, Jordan, Korea, Hong Kong and Malaysia, among others, not only to express their support for the Turkish workers, but to denounce the labour rights abuses as well.

The ITUC has expressed its solidarity with all the sacked Turkish UPS workers and with all the trade unions demonstrating today in many cities in Turkey on this action day. The ITUC strongly condemns these unacceptable anti-union acts, including pressure, harassment, aggression and acts leading to dismissals for joining Turkey’s TÜMTIS trade union. According to the ITUC, this is a clear violation of workers’ fundamental trade union rights as enshrined in the ILO core conventions which Turkey has ratified.

The ITUC has called for an immediate reinstatement of the workers and for steps to be taken to ensure that no further victimisation takes place at UPS and its subsidiaries. The ITUC will obviously support the ITF’s call for a worldwide action in a second global day on September 15 if the workers are not reinstated.

“In a real democracy based on social justice, workers have the right to be represented and to the freedom of association,” said Sharan Burrow, ITUC general secretary.

For more information, see the ITF Webpage

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