Thousands of Renault Metal Workers Strike in Turkey
By Jennifer Baker on Europe, Turkey
Thousands of metal workers stop production at the Renault factory to demand better wages and a union that represents the needs of the workers. Workers from various factories have joined in the strike.
Around 5,000 workers at Oyak Renault’s factory in Bursa halted production activities during their midnight shift on May 14 and have refused to return to work since. Thousands of metal workers from other factories, including Tofaş, a joint venture of Turkey’s top industrial conglomerate Koç Holding, Coşkunöz and FIAT have gone on strike to support Renault workers on late Friday.
The Renault factory in Bursa normally produces nearly 400 cars each shift.
Bursa is the 4th biggest city of Turkey and the hearth of the automobile industry of Turkey. Metal workers’ struggle for better conditions goes back to 2012, when thousands of workers of the German Bosch factory resigned from their union Türk Metal (a member of Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions, TÜRK-İŞ) claiming that the union fails to fight for the workers’ rights in negotiations with the employers. This followed several protests and eventually led to organizing an “inner council” among workers from various factories in order to take autonomous action to claim their rights.
The Renault workers, who complained about their low wages, demanded that a factory executive show up and deliver a statement, as their grievances went ignored for a month. The workers shouted slogans against the management and Metal Workers Trade Union of Turkey (Türk Metal), from which they have resigned.
A labor agreement was signed for the 2014-2017 period between Türk Metal and the employer’s union, Turkey’s Metal Industrialists Union (MESS), eight months ago. Nonetheless, the Oyak Renault workers asked for improvement in their conditions, adding that conditions for the workers of Bosch’s brake system factory, where Türk Metal is also in charge were given a 60% pay increase. The labor agreement at the Bosch factory was renewed in December 2015.
The demands of workers are as follows:
– Our agreement should be re-negotiated and signed based off the Bosch agreement
– Workers alone must be able to choose their own union representative by democratic process
– We want assurance that in case we resign from the Turk Metal union that we won’t be fired from our factories
– Turk Metal should leave factories immediately
Today is the third full day and two nights that workers have remained outside of the Renault factory.
Today the workers families have gathered to march to the factory in support.
http://revolution-news.com/thousands-of-renault-metal-workers-strike-in-turkey/
China: Massive Protest in Linshui Intense Repression and Resistance
By Jennifer Baker on Asia Pacific, China
China – Tens of Thousands of residents of the southwestern county of Linshui gathered in the morning and marched about 3km. Photos posted by the protesters on social media also showed violent attacks by a police tactical team(SWAT)and the resistance that followed lasted all day and well into the night.
The residents want (need) to have a proposed railway linking Dazhou to Chongqing pass through their county in the centre of Sichuan. The county currently has no railway, waterway, or airport.
Rage built up last week after residents found out that the authorities favor another plan – that the railway stretching more than 200km will instead by-pass Linshui and be routed through the late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping’s hometown Guangan , to the west of Linshui.
Some Linshui residents claimed to have written to the mayor of Guangan on the city’s official website to ask whether he had any knowledge of the progress of the railway project. The mayor allegedly replied on May 7 that the railway would pass through his city, not Linshui.
The reply could no longer been found on the website, and Linshui residents said it was taken down by the local authority in fear of controversy.
But the mayor’s alleged reply was widely circulated on social networks, prompting Linshui residents to publish online several open letters addressed to the state authorities.
“There are two railways passing through Guangan. We are the only county in the region that has nothing,” one of the letters read.
“The Guangan authorities are taking advantage of their prerogative [as the hometown of Deng]to monopolize resources.”
People signed their names to a massive banner.
A large number of police guard the scene. In late afternoon, Guang’an City special police force use violence to suppress the people of Linshui. Social media is reporting that at least 2 people have been killed and hundreds injured. One of the dead is a 12yr old boy.
The public responds with stones, bricks, sticks. People angered by the repression smashed and burned a lot of police cars. The conflict continued all day and into the night.
http://revolution-news.com/china-massive-protest-in-linshui-intense-repression-and-resistance/