On 29th January Turkey awoke to the largest metalworkers strike which saw about 42 different companies participating. The strike was short-lived having been banned the next day; making it the third strike ban in the last 12 months. It was also “considered to be the largest one in last 20 years of Turkey.” In this week’s GLC,Bilge Çoban and Muzaffer Ekin Şişli “discuss the right to strike within the experience of metal workers and point out the policy of Turkish government against this basic right.” Çoban and Şişli argue that the ban “is against the international agreements like the ILO Conventions which Turkey has ratified.” 

The authors continue to argue that despite the calamities the working class faces in Turkey, the strike served as an example that united working class can achieve more! Bilge Çoban is currently studying as a postgraduate in GLU program at UNICAMP in Brazil. She was a Sosyal-İş (Social Work Union) Execute Board Member of İstanbul Branch' and member of Progressive Workers' Union(DISK) women commission in Turkey. Muzaffer Ekin Şişli is currently studying as a postgraduate in GLU program at UNICAMP in Brazil. He was a worker in non-profit sector and a member of Sosyal-İş (Social Work Union) in Turkey.

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