12th Ordinary General Assembly of Petrol-Is Aliağa Branch: Hasan Toptan Reaffirms Confidence, Emphasizes Full Support to Striking Workers!

ALİAĞA - The 12th Ordinary General Assembly of the Aliağa Branch of Petrol-İş Union was held on Saturday, September 27, 2025 at the Petkim Cultural Center with enthusiastic participation. As a result of the elections held in the general assembly, which was followed by more than 400 laborers, Hasan Toptan, the current Branch President, was re-elected, while Veysi Yılmaz (Administrative) and Coşkun Tiktaş (Financial) were appointed as Vice Presidents. The genocide in Palestine, the economic problems in the country, the dangers of privatization and the ongoing strikes dominated the agenda.

General Assembly with Wide Participation

The General Assembly was attended by members of the union's Headquarters Executive, Audit and Disciplinary Boards, presidents and executives of different branches, delegates, representatives and members from workplaces affiliated to the Aliağa Branch, representatives of political parties operating in Aliağa and Izmir, and press workers. Important names such as Mustafa Öztaşkın, one of the former General Presidents of the union, Salih Akduman, one of the former General Secretaries, and İbrahim Doğangül, one of the General Financial Secretaries, also followed the congress.

The representatives of Türk Harb-İş, Tes-İş, Sağlık-İş, Çimse-İş and Toleyis Unions also attended the General Assembly, while KİPLAS and Türk Metal İzmir Branch sent messages wishing the congress to be beneficial for the working class. Türk-İş 3rd Regional President Hayrettin Çakmak also attended the congress and delivered a speech.

Branch President Toptan: "We Have No Choice but to Organize!"

The congress started at 10:00 am with the opening and greeting speech of Branch President Hasan Toptan. Stating that the basic rights of the working class are under attack, Toptan emphasized that the working class has no choice but to organize in the face of anti-labor practices. In his speech, Toptan stated that they will stand by Temel Conta workers who have been struggling for dignity and honor for 292 days and saluted the ongoing strikes of the union at TPI and Gübretaş.

Palestine and Privatization Emphasis from General President Akyüz

After a moment of silence and the reading of the National Anthem at the congress chaired by Secretary General Ahmet Baranlı, President Süleyman Akyüz was invited to the podium.

Akyüz started his speech by referring to the Aliağa Branch's 40-year long history of struggle and wished to raise the flag of Petrol-İş for many more 40 years. Akyüz made harsh statements about the "genocide" committed by Israel against Palestine and said, "There is a genocide in Palestine and humanity must stand up against this genocide. The number of massacred Palestinians has reached 65 thousand. In the 21st century, children are dying of hunger in Gaza. It must be understood that Zionism will not stop with Hamas and sanctions for show," he said, condemning Israel and its supporters.

Talking about the economic situation in Turkey, Akyüz stated that the basic problems faced by millions of laborers are not brought to the agenda, and that occupational homicides, inequality and poverty are deepening, but these are not talked about enough. Describing the statement of intent for the Supplementary Pension System (TES), which came to the agenda with the recently published Medium Term Program (MTP), as "privatization of pensions and a robbery", Akyüz stated that they will "put a stop" to this as they did before. Akyüz also said that the privatization target of 185 billion TL set for 2026 shows that a new wave of privatization is planned, especially highways and bridges, and argued that public workplaces should be strengthened rather than privatized.

Giving information about the strikes of Petrol-İş in 8 workplaces in 2025, Akyüz stated that the strikes at Temel Conta, TPI and Gübretaş are continuing and said that the Temel Conta strike is an example of the difficulties encountered in the organizing process in Turkey. Akyüz also mentioned the developments in the TPI strike and the difficulty in dealing with the employer side, and stated that they will continue to stand by their members.

Messages of Support from Guests and a Call from Basic Gasket Workers

After the speech of the General President, Hayrettin Çakmak, the 3rd Regional Representative of Türk-İş, emphasized that Aliağa, as a city of workers, should be a base for organizing and pledged support for the just struggle of Temel Conta workers. Former General President Mustafa Öztaşkın reminded that the Aliağa Branch was formed with 40 years of struggle and stated that the union struggle should be carried out together with the struggle for democracy and social peace.

On behalf of Temel Conta workers, who have been struggling for 292 days, workplace representative Sinem Kaya said that while Izmir is known as the "capital of democracy", it has become the "capital of slavery" for workers, and expressed that they are struggling to change this order.

Election Results: Hasan Toptan President Again

After the speeches, a video about the past and present of Aliağa Branch was shown and the Work and Account Reports were acquitted. Two main lists competed in the General Assembly. In the election between the list of the current president Hasan Toptan and the list of Salih Eraydın, 200 delegates from Petkim, TÜPRAŞ, Star Refinery, Ravago, Saybolt, Solu Fert, Air Liquide and Temel Conta voted.

According to the results of the elections, the Branch President was once again Hasan Toptan, while the Vice Presidents were Veysi Yılmaz (Administrative) and Coşkun Tiktaş (Financial). The Branch Board of Directors consisted of Ahmet Söğüt and Şaban Yıldızer, while İsmail Mantar, Mehmet Yıldız and Eray Erpek were elected to the Audit Board and Yener Kandemir, Taha Özceylan and Gürkan Yelkenci were elected to the Disciplinary Board.

Petrol-Is Aliağa Branch wished that the 12th Ordinary General Assembly would be beneficial to all its members and the working class of Turkey.