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President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has postponed a planned strike by mine workers for 60 days, citing protection of national security, according to a decision published in the Official Gazette today.
The postponement was made under Article 63 of the Law on Trade Unions and Collective Bargaining Agreements (Law No. 6356) and affects four sites operated by state-owned Eti Maden Enterprises.
The affected workplaces include Eti Maden’s central headquarters in Ankara’s Çankaya district, the Bigadiç Boron Operations Directorate in Balıkesir, the Kırka Boron Operations Directorate in Eskişehir, and the Emet Boron Operations Directorate in Kütahya.
The Mine Workers’ Union (Maden-İş) had declared it would launch a strike on Aug 1 if no agreement was reached with the Labor and Social Security Ministry and the labor confederation Türk-İş.
The union had also announced a separate strike at Turkish Coal Enterprises (TKİ) for Aug 8.
22nd strike postponement
The latest move marked the 22nd strike postponement under the 23-year rule of Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Aziz Çelik, a labor polict expert, said nearly 200,000 workers’ were affected from the strike bans. A table shared by Çelik shows 17 of the strike bans were imposed after 2014.
“The right to strike, which is guaranteed under Article 54 of the Constitution, can be nullified by an administrative decision,” Çelik wrote. He argued that in practice, the right to strike does not exist in Turkey, as it has become dependent on presidential approval. (AB/VK)