On Labor and Solidarity Day on Thursday, 17 female workers fired from a municipality run by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) began a march of protest.
The women aim to confront the party’s administration during the march, which will end at the party’s headquarters in Ankara.
The march of workers from the Çiğli municipality in the western province of Izmir started with a small rally outside the municipality, attended by workers and their families.
Speaking on behalf of the workers who were fired on June 10, 2024, Hale Ören Özdinçer stated that they were sacked without any legal justification and had been fighting for 11 months to regain their jobs. “Those who fired us tried to silence us. Labor unions fell silent, politicians ignored us, but we are here and we are determined to make our voices heard across Türkiye,” she said.
Özdinçer accused the municipality under the CHP of injustice, adding, “We can only reinstate justice by struggle. If you remain silent in the face of injustice, you will be part of an order that will target the labor rights of everyone. We don’t want any privileges, we only want our jobs back,” she said.
Çiğli has seen a strike by municipal workers last month after a labor union failed to reach a deal on a pay raise with the municipality. Days of strike by garbage collectors at a subsidiary of the municipality led to pollution in the district, triggering public health concerns.
Izmir is a stronghold of the CHP, which enjoyed unprecedented success in last year’s municipal elections across Türkiye. Yet, the city’s municipalities face criticism over their poor handling of an array of issues, from environmental protection to labor rights. Since the municipal elections, workers have gone on brief strikes in Bayraklı, Konak, Çiğli and Buca districts over low salaries.
