Kadıköy Municipality workers strike lasts only 1 minute

ISTANBUL

Workers from Kadıköy Municipality in Istanbul briefly went on strike after collective bargaining negotiations with the administration failed to yield results.

The strike, organized by members of the General Services Workers’ Union of Türkiye, lasted just one minute, ending shortly after the municipality announced that an agreement has been signed.

Gathering at midnight outside Kadıköy Municipality’s Marriage Office, union leaders had declared the strike due to an unresolved dispute over a collective labor agreement. In a symbolic protest, they hung a banner on the municipality building that read, “There is a strike in this workplace.”

Union branch head Nazan Gevher Çam Ay expressed frustration during a statement, explaining workers from Kadıköy Municipality and its subsidiaries, including KASDAŞ and the Social Democrat Public Employers Union, were with no options but to strike after lengthy negotiations failed.

However, at 12:01 a.m. on Nov. 19, the municipality issued a message announcing that a deal had been reached.

Following the announcement, union members and workers gathered in front of the municipality building to learn more about the terms of the agreement.

In her address to the crowd, Çam Ay criticized the municipality’s approach. “We protested for a long time to prevent this contract from being signed. It’s unacceptable that while we wave strike banners, the administration communicated only via cell phones.”

After the terms of the agreement were disclosed, most workers dispersed, ending the brief strike.