Workers across the Ba\u015fp\u0131nar Organized Industrial Zone in Gaziantep, Turkey have been on strike since February 6th, rejecting a 30% wage increase offered by employers, which was significantly lower than the official annual inflation rate of 44%. The real inflation rate in Turkey is estimated to be 81%, demonstrating the intensity of the economic crisis in the country. Eventually the strike wave in Gaziantep spread to 3,000 workers in 8 factories. On February 13th, the Gaziantep Governorate issued a 15 day ban on protests and the gendarme and the riot police dismantled strike tents set up by workers. Though most of the striking workers are not unionized, B\u0130RTEK-SEN, a combative union active in the region, came to lead the struggle. The official government web page for the workers to register their union membership was blocked. Mehmet T\u00fcrkmen, the chairman of B\u0130RTEK-SEN was detained first on Friday, on his way to the workers demonstration in the center of Gaziantep against the ban on protests. On Sunday he was detained again and he was arrested on Monday for \u201cdisrupting the right to work\u201d, a criminal charge American workers are very familiar with. T\u00fcrkmen has called on the workers of the Ba\u015fp\u0131nar Industrial Zone to unite under B\u0130RTEK-SEN and for the struggle to spread. The workers have protested outside B\u0130RTEK-SEN headquarters and the Gaziantep courthouse since T\u00fcrkmen\u2019s arrest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Class Struggle Action Network stands in full solidarity with the striking workers of the Ba\u015fp\u0131nar Industrial Zone who have a proud history of struggle, their combative union B\u0130RTEK-SEN and its imprisoned chairman Mehmet T\u00fcrkmen against the repression of the judiciary servants of the Turkish ruling class. The events in Gaziantep once again demonstrate that in all capitalist countries, whether in the West or in the East, laws are merely the instruments of the ruling class against the struggle of the working masses. Accordingly, every right won under this system is provisional and easily revocable whenever the ruling class catches us off guard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The determined struggle of the workers of Ba\u015fp\u0131nar in the face of police and military interventions and arrest of trade-unionists should be an inspiration to the workers of North America in the coming years of intensified crisis and state repression. In Turkey as in North America, the path of our class to victory requires a fighting international class union capable of coordinating mass strikes across sectors and borders. We can only protect each other and win through struggling together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Long live the strike of the workers of Gaziantep!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Long live B\u0130RTEK-SEN! Freedom for Mehmet T\u00fcrkmen!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Long live the international unity of the working class!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
S\u0131n\u0131f M\u00fccadelesi Eylem A\u011f\u0131’n\u0131n B\u0130RTEK-SEN (Birle\u015fik Tekstil, Dokuma ve Deri \u0130\u015f\u00e7ileri Sendikas\u0131) ve Gaziantep, T\u00fcrkiye’deki Grevci \u0130\u015f\u00e7ilerle Dayan\u0131\u015fma A\u00e7\u0131klamas\u0131\u2028\u2028Gaziantep’teki Ba\u015fp\u0131nar Organize Sanayi B\u00f6lgesi’nde \u00e7al\u0131\u015fan i\u015f\u00e7iler, i\u015fverenler taraf\u0131ndan teklif edilen ve resmi y\u0131ll\u0131k enflasyon oran\u0131 olan %44’\u00fcn \u00f6nemli \u00f6l\u00e7\u00fcde alt\u0131nda kalan %30’luk \u00fccret art\u0131\u015f\u0131n\u0131 reddederek 6 \u015eubat’tan bu yana grevde. T\u00fcrkiye’deki ger\u00e7ek enflasyon oran\u0131n\u0131n %81 oldu\u011fu tahmin ediliyor ve bu da \u00fclkedeki ekonomik krizin yo\u011funlu\u011funu g\u00f6steriyor. Gaziantep’teki grev dalgas\u0131 8 fabrikadaki 3,000 i\u015f\u00e7iye yay\u0131ld\u0131. 13 \u015eubat’ta Gaziantep Valili\u011fi 15 g\u00fcnl\u00fck eylem yasa\u011f\u0131 ilan etti ve jandarma ile \u00e7evik kuvvet i\u015f\u00e7ilerin kurdu\u011fu grev \u00e7ad\u0131rlar\u0131n\u0131 da\u011f\u0131tt\u0131. Grevdeki i\u015f\u00e7ilerin \u00e7o\u011fu sendikal\u0131 olmamas\u0131na ra\u011fmen, b\u00f6lgede faaliyet g\u00f6steren m\u00fccadeleci bir sendika olan B\u0130RTEK-SEN m\u00fccadeleye \u00f6nc\u00fcl\u00fck etti. \u0130\u015f\u00e7ilerin sendika \u00fcyeliklerini kaydettirebilecekleri resmi devlet web sayfas\u0131 engellendi. B\u0130RTEK-SEN Genel Ba\u015fkan\u0131 Mehmet T\u00fcrkmen ilk olarak Cuma g\u00fcn\u00fc Gaziantep’in merkezinde eylem yasa\u011f\u0131na kar\u015f\u0131 yap\u0131lacak i\u015f\u00e7i eylemine giderken g\u00f6zalt\u0131na al\u0131nd\u0131. Pazar g\u00fcn\u00fc tekrar g\u00f6zalt\u0131na al\u0131nd\u0131 ve Pazartesi g\u00fcn\u00fc Amerikal\u0131 i\u015f\u00e7ilerin \u00e7ok iyi bildi\u011fi bir su\u00e7lama olan “\u00e7al\u0131\u015fma hakk\u0131n\u0131 engellemek” su\u00e7undan tutukland\u0131. T\u00fcrkmen, Ba\u015fp\u0131nar Sanayi B\u00f6lgesi i\u015f\u00e7ilerini B\u0130RTEK-SEN \u00e7at\u0131s\u0131 alt\u0131nda birle\u015fmeye ve m\u00fccadeleyi yaymaya \u00e7a\u011f\u0131rd\u0131. \u0130\u015f\u00e7iler T\u00fcrkmen’in tutuklanmas\u0131ndan bu yana B\u0130RTEK-SEN Genel Merkezi ve Gaziantep Adliyesi \u00f6n\u00fcnde protesto g\u00f6sterileri d\u00fczenlediler.\u2028\u2028S\u0131n\u0131f M\u00fccadelesi Eylem A\u011f\u0131, onurlu bir m\u00fccadele ge\u00e7mi\u015fine sahip Ba\u015fp\u0131nar Sanayi B\u00f6lgesi’nin grevci i\u015f\u00e7ileri, onlar\u0131n m\u00fccadeleci sendikas\u0131 B\u0130RTEK-SEN ve onun tutuklu ba\u015fkan\u0131 Mehmet T\u00fcrkmen ile T\u00fcrk egemen s\u0131n\u0131f\u0131n\u0131n yarg\u0131 hizmetk\u00e2rlar\u0131n\u0131n bask\u0131lar\u0131na kar\u015f\u0131 tam bir dayan\u0131\u015fma i\u00e7indedir. Gaziantep’te ya\u015fananlar bir kez daha g\u00f6stermi\u015ftir ki, ister Bat\u0131’da ister Do\u011fu’da olsun, t\u00fcm kapitalist \u00fclkelerde yasalar i\u015f\u00e7i kitlelerin m\u00fccadelesine kar\u015f\u0131 egemen s\u0131n\u0131f\u0131n ara\u00e7lar\u0131d\u0131r. Buna g\u00f6re, bu sistem alt\u0131nda kazan\u0131lan her hak ge\u00e7icidir ve egemen s\u0131n\u0131f bizi gafil avlad\u0131\u011f\u0131nda kolayca geri al\u0131nabilir.\u2028\u2028Ba\u015fp\u0131nar i\u015f\u00e7ilerinin polis ve asker m\u00fcdahaleleri ve sendikac\u0131lar\u0131n tutuklanmas\u0131 kar\u015f\u0131s\u0131ndaki kararl\u0131 m\u00fccadelesi, krizin ve devlet bask\u0131s\u0131n\u0131n yo\u011fumla\u015faca\u011f\u0131 \u00f6n\u00fcm\u00fczdeki y\u0131llarda Kuzey Amerika i\u015f\u00e7ilerine ilham kayna\u011f\u0131 olmal\u0131d\u0131r. Kuzey Amerika’da oldu\u011fu gibi T\u00fcrkiye’de de s\u0131n\u0131f\u0131m\u0131z\u0131n zafere giden yolu, sekt\u00f6rler ve s\u0131n\u0131rlar \u00f6tesi kitlesel grevleri koordine edebilecek m\u00fccadeleci bir uluslararas\u0131 s\u0131n\u0131f birli\u011fini gerektirmektedir. Ancak birlikte m\u00fccadele ederek birbirimizi koruyabilir ve kazanabiliriz.\u2028\u2028Ya\u015fas\u0131n Gaziantep i\u015f\u00e7ilerinin grevi!\u2028\u2028Ya\u015fas\u0131n B\u0130RTEK-SEN! Mehmet T\u00fcrkmen’e \u00f6zg\u00fcrl\u00fck!\u2028\u2028Ya\u015fas\u0131n i\u015f\u00e7i s\u0131n\u0131f\u0131n\u0131n uluslararas\u0131 birli\u011fi!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Workers across the Ba\u015fp\u0131nar Organized Industrial Zone in Gaziantep, Turkey have been on strike since February 6th, rejecting a 30% wage increase offered by employers, which was significantly lower than the official annual inflation rate of 44%. The real inflation rate in Turkey is estimated to be 81%, demonstrating the intensity of the economic crisis […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2645,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,18,47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-class-struggle","category-workers-struggle"],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/class-struggle-action.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screen-Shot-2025-02-23-at-12.11.16-PM.png",506,482,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/class-struggle-action.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screen-Shot-2025-02-23-at-12.11.16-PM-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/class-struggle-action.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screen-Shot-2025-02-23-at-12.11.16-PM-300x286.png",300,286,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/class-struggle-action.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screen-Shot-2025-02-23-at-12.11.16-PM.png",506,482,false],"large":["https:\/\/class-struggle-action.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screen-Shot-2025-02-23-at-12.11.16-PM.png",506,482,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/class-struggle-action.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screen-Shot-2025-02-23-at-12.11.16-PM.png",506,482,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/class-struggle-action.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screen-Shot-2025-02-23-at-12.11.16-PM.png",506,482,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Anonymous Worker","author_link":"https:\/\/class-struggle-action.net\/?author=1"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Workers across the Ba\u015fp\u0131nar Organized Industrial Zone in Gaziantep, Turkey have been on strike since February 6th, rejecting a 30% wage increase offered by employers, which was significantly lower than the official annual inflation rate of 44%. The real inflation rate in Turkey is estimated to be 81%, demonstrating the intensity of the economic crisis…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/class-struggle-action.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/class-struggle-action.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/class-struggle-action.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/class-struggle-action.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/class-struggle-action.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2644"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/class-struggle-action.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2644\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2646,"href":"https:\/\/class-struggle-action.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2644\/revisions\/2646"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/class-struggle-action.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/class-struggle-action.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/class-struggle-action.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/class-struggle-action.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}