Tekgıda-İş Union Rize Dosan Branch Congress Turned into a Historic Call for Struggle

Rize - With its 9th Ordinary Congress held on Sunday, August 3, the Rize Dosan Branch of Tekgıda-İş Trade Union drew attention to the deepening problems of workers in the tea sector and once again emphasized the vital importance of organized struggle. In the congress, which was held with intense participation, the difficulties faced by tea workers, the vital role of organizing in workplaces and the struggle strategies in the upcoming collective bargaining processes were discussed. The congress, where two candidates competed for the branch presidency, witnessed important messages in terms of union solidarity and future vision.

The congress in Rize was attended by senior executives of Tekgıda-İş Union, including General Secretary İbrahim Ören, General Organization Secretary Kemal Köse and General Education Secretary Engin Öz. Adana, Ankara (Branches No. 1 and Fırınlar), Bursa, Eskişehir (Branches No. 1 and 2), Gebze, İstanbul (Anatolian and European Side), Karacabey, Kocaeli, Samsun and Rize Dosan Branch Presidents and Rize Regional Representative were also present at the congress. In addition to Mevlüt Alptekin, Human Resources Manager of Lipton Tea, and Korkmaz Yüksel, Former Production Manager of Lipton Tea, as well as Yaşar Kaspar, President of the sister union Belediye-İş Rize Branch, were among the guests, underlining union solidarity.

Critical Findings on the Tea Sector from Branch President Candidate Mustafa Yüksel

Making the opening speech of the congress, Rize Dosan Branch President and candidate for the new term Mustafa Yüksel emphasized the importance of the collective agreements signed during his four-year term. Yüksel said, "We provided a raise of approximately 40 percent in 2021. However, unfortunately, these gains have been insufficient over time due to minimum wage increases. With our latest contract, we managed to provide better conditions for our tea workers."

Drawing attention to the competitive inequality of unorganized factories in the region in his speech, Yüksel said: "The only organized factory in the private sector in Rize is the factory within our branch. Even our Lipton employer states that they cannot compete with other enterprises because they are unorganized, and that the employees in these enterprises work for very low wages. This is a clear indication of how deunionization erodes workers' rights. These factories must be organized urgently."

Emphasizing that one of the most fundamental problems of tea workers is "wet tea purchase prices", Yüksel expressed the injustice caused by the fact that the tea purchase price is the same for all organized and unorganized workplaces, despite the high costs in organized workplaces. Yüksel said, "The state should make an urgent regulation in the law on fresh tea and apply special pricing to organized enterprises that have high costs and give the right to their laborers. This will both encourage organizing and ensure fair competition."

Congress Council Formation and Memorial Ceremony

After Mustafa Yüksel's speech, General Organization Secretary Kemal Köse was elected as the Chairman of the Divan Board and General Education Secretary Engin Öz and Istanbul European Side Branch President Turgay Koç were elected as the Divan Board Members to manage the congress.

After the formation of the Board of Directors, an emotional commemoration ceremony was held in the congress hall. Within the scope of the ceremony, which started with a moment of silence and the reading of the National Anthem; Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, all the martyrs of the War of Independence, the heroic members of the armed forces and security officers who were martyred in the defense of the homeland, the labor martyrs who lost their lives in labor murders, the firefighters and volunteers who lost their lives on duty in the recent forest fires were commemorated with gratitude. After the introduction of the guests, the speeches of the union executives and presidential candidates began.

Presidential Candidate Ali Ince: "We Must Be Active in the Field, We Must Take Sudden Actions!"

In his speech, Ali İnce, one of the candidates for branch president, described the past four years as "a period without a president" and emphasized the importance of being active in the field in union management. Stating that he had no personal problem with the current Branch President Mustafa Yüksel, İnce stated that there were deficiencies in union activities despite their sincere relations.

Ali İnce said, "I like him very much and he likes me. However, unfortunately, we experienced deficiencies when we needed to take immediate actions in the field. For this reason, I took the decision to run for candidacy. We had already agreed with him on this issue beforehand." Emphasizing that workers from the field expect fast and effective reactions, İnce said, "Because our friends and employees from the field expect immediate action. Since we could not give this reaction, we decided that we should follow a different path as the new management." Continuing his words by saying, "We have resorted to this way because we think that someone who works with us in the field and swallows the same dust should be involved in this business", İnce stated that they want to set out with a more active, faster and more on-the-ground management approach in the new period.

General Secretary İbrahim Ören's Heartbreaking Picture for Tea Workers and Sharp Economic Criticism

Taking the floor after Ali İnce, General Secretary İbrahim Ören made striking assessments on the deepening problems of tea laborers, Turkey's economic crisis, failures in the judicial system and violations of workers' rights.

Ören stated that tea production in the unique nature of the Black Sea region is sustained by the hard work of tens of thousands of laborers, and that the sector suffers from "deep labor exploitation, precariousness and social injustice on the invisible side". "Tea is not just a beverage, it is a symbol that brings peace to our tables in the east, west and north of this country," Ören said, adding that underneath this peace, "a bitter system operates in which seasonal workers are deprived of social security and denied basic rights."

Harsh Conditions in the Tea Sector: Ören said that tea workers are oppressed by market conditions, large capital groups and negligent management and drew attention to the problems caused by seasonal work. He emphasized that tea workers are called back to work every year, but are deprived of basic rights such as social security, annual leave, severance pay and job security. He stated that low wages and unfair fresh tea procurement policies put both producers and workers in an economic deadlock. Ören summarized the situation with the expressions "Wet tea purchase prices are insufficient for the producer and destructive for the worker". Reminding that even in a public institution such as ÇAYKUR, workers are offered working conditions based on daily wages below the minimum wage, Ören emphasized that the conditions of tea laborers working in the private sector are much more severe.

Unregistered Employment and Child Labor: In his speech, Ören stated that especially in the Eastern Black Sea region, temporary workers from Georgia and citizens from eastern provinces are employed in unregistered and unhealthy conditions, and that these workers are both deprived of social protection and forced into unfair competition with local workers. He said that although women laborers work more in the fields, they receive lower wages, and that children are taken away from education and put to work in the fields to contribute to family income. "Ignoring the problems of tea laborers is not only an economic choice, but also a matter of conscience," said Ören, making the following urgent calls to the government:

• Summer seasonal workers should be immediately given staff or at least social security.

• Purchase prices for tea should be set fairly, taking into account actual costs and labor wages.

• Producers and workers should be protected against arbitrary purchasing policies of the private sector.

• Effective control mechanisms should be established and implemented to prevent unregistered work.

• Migrant and temporary workers must be provided with decent working conditions.

• Regional development projects and social support programs should be implemented against women and child labor. Ören said that all these findings "clearly show that the tea laborer has been left alone by the political power. The worker has been left at the mercy of the bosses and the market," he said, reinforcing his criticism.

Harsh Criticism of Economic Policies: Commenting on Turkey's economic outlook, Ören said that Turkey was affected much more negatively by the global economic crisis that occurred after the pandemic due to wrong policies and that the society was dragged into a severe impoverishment process. Stating that countries with strong production have started to recover, he emphasized that inflation has increased and purchasing power has decreased in Turkey. Describing the "nas policy" based on the thesis that "interest is the cause and inflation is the result" as "the imposition and bankruptcy of a religious-based understanding on our economy that is contrary to the basic principles of economic science", Ören said: "The rhetoric that interest is considered haram has turned into an effort to create a temporary spring by lowering loan interest rates during the election process, fueling consumption. However, these policies caused great damage to the country in the long run." Stating that Turkey has become one of the countries with the highest interest rates in the world, Ören said, "With the Currency Protected Deposit system, taxes collected from millions of laborers were transferred to asset owners. When the money was not enough, this time interest was declared a savior instead of being haram. We ask: Where was interest haram? Where were the nas policies halal? Why have you been raising interest rates for a year?" he said, harshly criticizing the government's economic policies.

Without Law, Labor cannot be Protected: Stating that the bread on the table of citizens has shrunk with the uncontrolled increase in inflation, Ören said, "The minimum wage is below the hunger limit. Flexible working in the private sector, subcontracting and precariousness in the public sector are increasing. The vast majority of workers in Turkey struggle to live below the poverty line." Stating that the tax burden falls on the low-income earners, Ören said, "The Minister of Economy constantly increases taxes and recommends savings only to the public. There are no restrictions in the public sector. The public, whose expenditures are increasing while their incomes are decreasing, is being dragged to the brink of a social explosion." Emphasizing that freedom of expression is under pressure in addition to economic difficulties, Ören said, "People are being tried on trumped up charges and arrested with confessions. Labor cases drag on for years, union activities are suppressed. Where justice is delayed, justice is not served. An independent judiciary is also the guarantee of union struggle." At the end of his speech, Ören said, "As Tekgıda-İş Union, we reject all unlawfulness. The will of the people cannot be destroyed by fictions and slander. What is actually destroyed is the government's own morality and conscience. The Republic of Turkey, founded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, will never submit to a one-man regime."

The Only Way to Survive: Organized Struggle!

Stating that the union continues to make the best collective labor agreements despite the difficult economic conditions, Ören said, "We manage the processes together with our representatives with a transparent understanding." Ören stated that successful contracts in the food sector have brought the union to the forefront in Europe and that Tekgıda-İş Union has become the fastest growing food union in Europe.

Saying that the new period's collective bargaining strategies will be formed together with the central management, branches and expert staff, Ören emphasized that the right to strike will be used as a tool against employers who ignore labor. "Just like in the Kristal Oils and private tobacco strikes," he said, recalling the successful struggles of the past. In 2009, with the participation of more than 1500 members, the private tobacco strike and the Kristal Oils strike were successful. He stated that the 173-day resistance of 150 Polonez Food workers who were laid off by a Jordanian company in Çatalca, Istanbul, became the agenda of Turkey and that the Perfetti struggle in Istanbul, which lasted 360 days, was successfully completed. He added that the struggle against Eker Dairy Products in Bursa is still ongoing.

At the end of his speech, Ören said, "These struggles remind us of a truth once again: The only way to survive is to organize. If we do not fight arm in arm in this cruel world, no one will take care of us. We have no choice but organized struggle," he said, strongly reiterating the determined stance of the union and the indispensability of organized struggle.

After Secretary General İbrahim Ören's speech, delegates went to the polls and voted to determine the new management.