Mint strike might hit official stamp supplies in Turkey

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet

Workers of the mint, where money, gold coins and official documents are manufactured, walked off on July 8. Hürriyet photo

An ongoing strike at the mint might cause scarcity of official stamps manufactured by the institution to be used for passports, driver’s licenses and alcoholic drink bottles and cigarette boxes, in addition to its impact on the gold coin supply.

Turgut Çetin, a representative of the union of the printing and press industry, Basın-İş, said the institution has only has enough banderoles left for a single week.

“If the conditions aren’t improved the country might face many official problems,” Çetin said, noting that the mint not only manufactures money and gold, but also passports, driver’s licenses, marriage licenses and all the official documents used for correspondence by public institutions.

The mint workers – who went to strike July 8 to protest the working hours, wage levels and safety conditions at the workplace – have said they’re determined to slow production until their demands are satisfied, raising fears over the manufacture of some essential state documents. The strike at the mint has already impacted gold coins, which are only processed by mint workers, causing a steep jump in prices.