08/10/2024 | Writer: Kaos GL
“Our fellow workers arrived in Ankara ‘barefoot’ and continue to resist ‘barefoot.’”
On October 6, LGBTI+ activists visited workers from Fernas Mining, who were protesting their dismissal at Ankara’s Kurtuluş Park. The workers, employed by Fernas Mining—a company owned by AKP Batman MP Ferhat Nasırlıoğlu—voiced their demands for better working conditions and fair wages. They highlighted the need for their wages to be aligned with those in the Soma Basin and called for the recognition of the rights of their colleagues who were dismissed for being union members.
During the visit, the attorney of the Fernas workers said:
“Efforts have been made to find an interlocutor. Therefore, we recommend that the laborers themselves should be directly addressed to resolve this issue. Since the beginning of the resistance, there have been three primary demands. First, six of our colleagues were dismissed for being union members, and their rights must be recognized. Second, all measures related to occupational health and safety within the enterprise must be fully implemented. Lastly, miners working in the Soma Basin are demanding wages that align with the average wage in the industry. Our fellow workers arrived in Ankara ‘barefoot’ and continue to resist ‘barefoot.’”
Why are Fernas workers on strike?
Fernas workers have been on strike since 26 August in protest against their dismissal from Fernas Madencilik in Soma, Manisa, owned by AKP Batman MP Ferhat Nasıroğlu, for being union members. Represented by the Independent Miners Union (Bağımsız Maden İş), the workers began a long march from Soma to Ankara on 25 September, and since 2 October, they have been staging a sit-in protest in Kurtuluş Park. They are demanding to meet with Nasıroğlu to address their grievances.
Tags: human rights