The workers’ strike in Van has been ongoing for a month

Many workers laid off by municipalities in Van have been protesting in front of the İpekyolu Municipality, affiliated with the DEM Party, for a month now. DEM Party-affiliated Van Metropolitan Municipality and İpekyolu Municipality had terminated the employment contracts of many workers just one day after the Labor Day on May 1st. The dismissed workers, led by HAK-İŞ Van Branch, have been continuing their protests for a month. The protests have been joined by the workers who were also dismissed from Edremit Municipality, Tuşba Municipality, and most recently Gevaş Municipality, with reports indicating that around 800 workers have had their contracts terminated so far. “Resolve this grievance before the holiday” Speaking on the matter, HAK-İŞ Van Branch President Fatih Akdeniz stated that they are continuing the protests to make their voices heard. Akdeniz said, “Fortunately, our voices have reached the parliament. This is certainly a positive development. Ultimately, they made a statement suggesting that we should collectively come to a decision. Of course, we have been trying to address this grievance from the very first day. We are trying to explain that these people have needs. We keep saying; if there are those who do not come to work, if there are irregularities, let’s identify them together but let’s not victimize these people. The holiday is approaching. The people here are in distress. They have families, children. These people are the children of this country. We are saying this without making a political party distinction. We invite everyone to negotiate. Our colleagues who were laid off have rights in all municipalities dating back. They have overtime pay, they have retroactive rights. Even the money they have left inside has not been paid.”