Workers in Turkey start one-day general strike

Workers in Turkey began a nation-wide one-day strike on Thursday to support workers of the Tobacco and Liquor Administration (TEKEL).

Workers and civil servants throughout Turkey were called to participate to the one-day strike, supported by Turkey's vocational organizations, namely Turk-Is, Hak-Is, DISK, Memur-Sen, Turkiye Kamu-Sen and KESK.

The workers will be on strike between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday.

"We have started use our right not to vote, granted by the Constitution," Mustafa Kumlu, the chairman of the Turkish Confederation of Labor (Turk-Is), told AA correspondent.

Kumlu said this strike was a serious warning, and hoped the government would take it into consideration.

Workers from the privatized Tekel factories have been struggling for 52 days at a sit-down strike in Ankara to secure a transfer to other public institutions along with their employee rights and called for a general strike at a recent mass rally in Ankara.

Last week, following a meeting with Turk-Is Chairman Mustafa Kumlu, Premier Erdogan ordered two of his ministers to work on the issue and come up with a solution to the situation.

Tekel workers who have been on a hunger strike, gave a break and decided to wait for the government's offer.

The government offered to reemploy Tekel workers under 4-C contract, which means a partial loss of rights for the workers, the initial cause of the protests. However, the government promised to ameliorate the conditions of the contract with the new offer.

The negotiations between, Turk-Is, Turkey's largest federation of labor unions --representing the Tekel workers-- and the government have failed, when Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan's offer failed to satisfy Turk-Is.

After the break up of negotiations, Turkey's major confederation of labor and civil servant unions, Turk-Is Hak-Is, DISK, Memur-Sen, Turkiye, Kamu-Sen and KESK, got together on Tuesday and decided to go on a one-day nation wide strike to warn the government.

/World Bulletin/