Reaction to Layoffs at Çoruh EDAŞ: "20 Years of Work Erased with a Pen"

(RİZE) - Çoruh Electricity Distribution Company (Çoruh EDAŞ), which provides electricity distribution services in the Black Sea region, dismissed 41 workers with Code 46 on the grounds that they were engaged in union activities. Gathering in front of the Rize Provincial Directorate, the workers protested the decision and said, "Our 20 years of labor was erased with a pen."

Çoruh EDAŞ supplies electricity to Trabzon, Rize, Giresun, Artvin and Gümüşhane provinces and operates under Kazancı Holding. The dismissed workers said they were targeted because they were members of the Energy Workers Union and were engaged in union activities.

"This is a planned attack on the will of the worker"

"Just three days after we founded our union, our most active members were laid off with Code 46," said Muzaffer Kurtuluş, President of the Energy Employees Union. This is not a coincidence, it is a planned attack against the will of the worker." Kurtuluş said that workers were unlawfully labeled, directed to mediators with signature pressure and their right to compensation was tried to be usurped.

"Workers targeted for reacting to low wages"

Workers said that in February 2025, they showed their democratic reaction to low wages, and that while no official action was taken for six months, they were suddenly dismissed with retrospective reports. Workers emphasized that loss of motivation in heavy and dangerous work can lead to loss of life.

"I was fired on the eve of my wedding"

Maintenance and repair worker Niyazi Agunacı said, "I was fired on the eve of my wedding, on my henna day. They gave us Code 46. We were told that if we do not sign, this stain will remain on our foreheads for the rest of our lives."

Muhammed Özatpaşa, who has been at the institution for 20 years, said, "When I was being dismissed, I asked 'for what problem am I being dismissed?' My managers could not answer. They said they were embarrassed, but this embarrassment does not bring back my bread. Our 20 years of work was erased with a pen."

"The real thief is the one who eats the right of the laborer"

Energy Employees Union Eastern Black Sea Branch President Uğur Ertürk defended the workers labeled as thieves with Code 46: "The real thief is the company that eats the laborers' rights. Workers who have spent years in this business cannot be humiliated in this way."

The protest was supported by the CHP Pazar District Organization, IHD Rize Representative Office and the families of the workers. CHP Pazar District Chairman Ömer Hocaoğlu said, "Unless the organized working class gets stronger, capital will continue this oppression. The ballot box will come, this government will go," he said.

The workers announced that they will continue their legal struggle until they get their jobs back.

Source: Anka