Kadikoy strike in Istanbul ends just one minute after deal announced
Kadikoy Municipality workers' strike decision, made after unsuccessful collective bargaining talks, ended one minute after the municipality announced the signing of the contract in Kadikoy, Istanbul, on 19 November, 2024. (AA Photo)
Workers at Kadikoy Municipality abruptly ended their strike decision just one minute after the local government announced a collective bargaining agreement had been reached.
Late at night, members of the Revolutionary Workers’ Unions Confederation (DISK) and the General Services Workers’ Union (Genel-Is), part of DISK, gathered outside the Kadikoy Municipality Marriage Bureau to protest the failure of contract negotiations.
These workers, part of Genel-Is’s Kadikoy branch, declared they would go on strike after talks with the municipality over the terms of the new contract broke down. They hung a banner outside the building that read, “There is a strike in this workplace.”
Nazan Gevher Cam Ay, head of Genel-Is’s Kadikoy branch, told the crowd that the failure of negotiations between Kadikoy Municipality, its subsidiary Kadikoy Health Tourism Education Environment Cleanliness Industry and Trade Inc. (KASDAS), and the Social Democratic Public Employers’ Union (SODEMSEN) had led to the strike vote.
However, at precisely 12:01 AM on November 19, just one minute after the strike was announced, Kadikoy Municipality sent a message to the workers, stating, “An agreement has been reached between our municipality, KASDAS, and Genel-Is on the collective labor contract.”
The workers, who had gathered in anticipation of the strike, were left in confusion. Despite efforts to discuss the details of the new agreement with union representatives, no further clarification was provided.
Addressing the workers outside the municipality, Cam Ay expressed frustration over the way the contract was signed without union approval. “We’ve spent a long time protesting in front of the municipality to prevent this contract from being signed. At midnight, we didn’t expect this outcome. We will tell the story of this process. There’s no point in me staying as branch president now. We didn’t put up a banner saying ‘don’t touch the workers’ will’ in vain. You didn’t even acknowledge that while we held up our strike banner, yet messages were being sent to your phones. This is unacceptable,” she said.
Once the signed contract details were revealed, most of the workers left the municipality building, effectively ending their planned strike.
