A Turkish trade union started Tuesday a march against the unlawful firings of workers by the Bolu municipality, which is run by a Republican People's Party's (CHP) mayor.
The HAK-İŞ Trade Union Confederation is expected to march from the northwestern province of Bolu to the capital Ankara to protest the recent dismissal of 97 municipal workers by the new administration.
Following the workers' protests that lasted for 49 days, the HAK-İŞ chairman Mahmut Arslan and hundreds of workers coming from various provinces gathered in front of the Bolu municipality building.
"You fooled the people. You fooled our members. You fooled the workers. But, you cannot fool God. You will be held accountable for this," said Arslan referring to the new municipal administration's promises made before the elections.
"We respect the nation's will. Those who did not realize their promises to the people and workers in Bolu should give an account for this. We are here to call them to account for this," he added.
Criticizing the CHP administration, Arslan called on the municipality to stop the unfair treatment of workers and give the dismissed workers their jobs back.
Tanju Özcan, the new mayor of Bolu, had been the CHP deputy from Bolu since 2011. In the March 31 elections, he was nominated by his party for the province and was elected mayor with 44 percent of the votes.
In his very first action taken after the March 31 elections, Özcan instructed municipality departments to stop relief for foreigners, saying Syrian refugees should return home as soon as possible.
Despite facing some stern criticism, he later continued to support his anti-refugee plan, claiming that Iraqi, Syrian and Afghan refugees lived in the "highest standards" in Bolu.