A shocking new scandal has erupted within Türkiye's main opposition party, the Republican People's Party (CHP), as the Mudanya Municipality in western Bursa has come under fire for a controversial decision to attach tracking chips to its sanitation workers. This decision, aimed at "monitoring employee performance," as the municipality claimed, has ignited a firestorm of criticism from labor advocates and municipal workers alike.
In a municipality struggling to keep pace with rising living costs and ongoing labor disputes, introducing these chips has raised serious ethical questions about worker treatment and dignity.
A sanitation worker, speaking on anonymity, expressed the frustrations felt by many. “We are witnessing a peak in anti-worker sentiment, with unpaid labor, harassment and inhumane practices becoming the norm. Workers are forced to labor in tattered shoes, without gloves or masks, using damaged equipment, while facing threats of homelessness and hunger,” he lamented.
In response to the backlash, Hasan Özdemir, secretary of the Genel-Iş Union's Branch 1, provided insight into the municipality's rationale for implementing the tracking devices. “The municipal management claimed that the citizens of Mudanya were expressing significant dissatisfaction with the cleanliness services, and they wanted to demonstrate the workers' productivity through these devices,” he said.
Özdemir recounted the swift response from the union. “As soon as we learned about this situation, we instructed our workers to remove the devices and return them to management. Our actions influenced the collective bargaining discussions, reducing the daily wage proposal from TL 980 lira to TL 930,” he added.
The situation has added another source of trouble to the municipality administration, which is trying to tackle the recent labor unrest.
Last week, the workers, represented by the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Türkiye (DISK)/Genel-Iş Union, announced their decision to strike after failing to reach an agreement during collective bargaining talks.
“We, the workers of Mudanya Municipality, are being crushed by rising prices and soaring rents. The taxes we pay, alongside our meager wages, have left us in crippling debt,” a worker stated, highlighting the stark disparity in wages compared to their counterparts in neighboring municipalities.
As the chip scandal and a wave of protests unfold, it highlights a troubling trend within CHP municipal administrations, where workers increasingly find themselves at odds with management policies. With tensions mounting, Mudanya municipality now faces the daunting challenge of addressing worker grievances while restoring public trust in its services.
