Strike alert in İzmir! 23 thousand municipal workers to walk off the job

Because no results were reached in the ongoing collective bargaining negotiations with the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality, 23 thousand workers have announced that they will begin a strike after midnight on May 28.

Officials from the Genel-İş Union's İzmir branches No. 1, 2, 3, and 9 announced that approximately 23 thousand workers will go on strike after midnight on May 28, as the collective bargaining negotiations with the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality have failed to produce a result. Union representatives stated that the strike will include transportation and all other services.

NEGOTIATIONS LASTING 150 DAYS DID NOT REACH A CONCLUSION

Workers gathered in front of the Genel-İş Union İzmir Branches service building, where they danced and chanted various slogans. Speaking there, Engin Topal, President of Genel-İş İzmir Branch No. 1, said that they had made every effort for 150 days to conclude the collective bargaining agreement at the negotiating table.

Arguing that the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality has been misrepresenting the collective bargaining negotiations to the public and pitting workers against the public, Topal said, "We have never made an unfair demand from the municipality. The point we have reached is clear. Starting tomorrow night, approximately 23 thousand people working at the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality will go on strike, and there is a very interesting situation. They are very relaxed, as if we are going on strike in Manisa or Denizli, not here. Since they constantly blame us in the public eye, we are also waiting with curiosity to see how they will explain this situation from this hour on."

'WE WILL BE ON STRIKE STARTING THURSDAY MORNING, INCLUDING TRANSPORTATION AND ALL SERVICES'

Ercan Gül, President of Genel-İş İzmir Branch No. 2, stated that even though 5 months have passed since the collective bargaining negotiations covering the years 2025-2026 began, no results have been achieved yet.

Claiming that the municipality is imposing poverty-level wages, Gül noted the following:

"They want to pit us against the people of İzmir with untrue statements such as 'municipal workers are demanding higher wages than district governors and provincial governors,' and they are creating a perception over our labor and our dignity. If this collective agreement is not signed by Wednesday night, the responsibility does not lie with us workers, but with those who mock the sweat of the laborers. We will be on strike starting Thursday morning, including transportation and all services."

News Source: 12punto