08.12.2025 13:00
Members of DİSK/Genel-İş İzmir Branches 1, 2, 3, and 9, along with 23,000 workers, decided to take action against the unpaid fringe benefits and the "Bare Wage" practice at İzmir Metropolitan Municipality's subsidiaries İZENERJİ, İZELMAN, İZFAŞ, EGEŞEHİR, and İZTEK, and organized a 'Barefoot Walk'.
The employees of İzmir Metropolitan Municipality's subsidiaries İZENERJİ, İZELMAN, İZFAŞ, EGEŞEHİR, and İZTEK have started a protest due to the issues of collective bargaining agreements (CBA) and other fringe benefits, delayed salary payments, dismissals, members who have been reinstated to their companies but are not allowed to return to work, and allegations of unfair practices regarding wages, involving DİSK/Genel-İş İzmir Branches 1, 2, 3, and 9, along with 23,000 workers.
Workers gathered in front of the DİSK Genel-İş Building and walked barefoot to the 9 Eylül Gate of Kültürpark, chanting the slogan 'Barefoot walk for bare wages.' After the march, DİSK/Genel-İş İzmir Branch 2 President Ercan Gül stated, "Our rights are being violated, our living conditions are being worsened, and our legal gains are being disregarded. The educational assistance, bonuses, and other social rights clearly stated in the 37th, 43rd, and 44th articles of our Collective Bargaining Agreement have not been paid for months. Despite all the negotiations we have been conducting for months, the municipality administration has neither made any payments nor announced a concrete payment schedule. This situation is not only a clear violation of the CBA but also a severe attack on the economic and social rights of workers," he said.
"THEY HAVE PUSHED WORKERS INTO THE STREET DELIBERATELY" Gül, who stated that rights such as meal and fuel assistance, which have been regularly included in their salaries for many years, are suddenly being cut, said, "Despite the municipality bureaucrats saying for days that 'there is no problem with salaries,' just one day before the salary payment, some media outlets reported that 'workers' salaries will be paid as bare wages,' and we were informed that this news was true when we called. With this attack on our salaries, we have become unable to pay our rent, loans, and bills. This attitude has pushed us to our limits and has deliberately pushed workers into the street. Dozens of our friends have been unjustly dismissed, and hundreds of our friends are being kept in uncertainty in the 'pool' after being reinstated to companies. This practice has destroyed workplace peace, eliminated our job security, and turned into a policy of intimidation that threatens our right to live," he said.
"WE ARE HERE FOR THE SUFFERING OF OUR FRIENDS" Gül, who stated that "Our protest is completely legal and legitimate," continued: "According to Article 34 of the Labor Law No. 4857, if wages are not paid on time, the worker may refuse to work. The statements of our Mayor, saying 'Unions are behaving aggressively, they want to remind themselves because they haven't protested for months,' do not reflect the truth. We are here not to remind ourselves, but for the rights of our members that have not been paid for 4-5 months and for the suffering of our friends who are kept in the pool. The understanding that pushes us into the street by reaching out to our salaries during a period when we are at the negotiation table, and then threatens our friends who will protest, is not worthy of social democratic municipalism. One day before the protest, employer representatives invited us to a meeting, and in that meeting, it was stated that a certain amount of money would be deposited for our friends working at İZENERJİ, but it was not specified which item it would be. They expressed that no payment would be made to our friends in other companies. After leaving the meeting, employer representatives called us to inform that they would pay the remaining part of the salary for our friends at İZENERJİ on Monday, and for those working in other companies on Wednesday, but they could not provide a clear date regarding our social rights. We want it to be known that the protest we have started today is not only for our salaries but also for our social rights that have not been paid on time for 4 months."
Gül emphasized that they would continue their protests unless a concrete payment was made regarding their social rights, stating, "We will not wait for this struggle; we will take it by fighting. We are raising our voices by stopping work for half a day in all our workplaces since this morning," he said.
"WE WILL NEVER TAKE A STEP BACK" Gül emphasized the necessity of allowing those who have been dismissed and reinstated to return to work, saying, "Our delayed rights in the collective agreement must be paid urgently. The attack on our fundamental rights such as meal and fuel included in our salaries must be stopped immediately. Hands reaching out to our labor and bread must be withdrawn. If İzmir Metropolitan Municipality does not seriously engage with us and create a payment plan for our rights, and if our job security is not ensured, we will resolutely escalate our legitimate struggle. We will never take a step back from the streets and the squares," he said.
DİSK/Genel-İş İzmir Branch 1 President Engin Topal also stated, "Our protests will continue for the next week. Today, the buses did not stop. Some of our critical jobs were not halted. We did not disrupt our work. We are waiting for the bureaucrats of İzmir Metropolitan Municipality to invite us to the table for the payment of our social rights, the immediate reinstatement of our friends waiting in the pool, and the timely payment of our salaries and social rights. Otherwise, there is no possibility of withdrawing these protests from this street," he said.