Breaking News: Cemil Tugay's offer accepted! The 7-day strike in İzmir has ended

The strike of 23,000 workers from İZENERJİ, İZELMAN, and EGEŞEHİR A.Ş., who are organized under DİSK Genel-İş İzmir Branches 1, 2, 3, and 9, has ended on its 7th day. The offer of a 30 percent raise and a 19 percent inflation adjustment, which was conveyed to the union by İzmir Metropolitan Municipality bureaucrats and SODEM-SEN last night, has been accepted.

As reported by İzGazete, DİSK Genel-İş İzmir Branch 2 President Ercan Gül stated the following after the offer was accepted: "We know what we will face if we act discordantly. There were concerns that the Headquarters would intervene, but it has been seen that these were wrong. If we want to enter the future stronger, we must first protect our organization. Perhaps there will be those among you who react, but I am not in favor of setting up a ballot box; however, we have to make a decision where we see that the organization will be divided in two this way. If you give us the authority, we will bring the collective bargaining agreement (TİS) to the final point. If you do not give us the authority, we will not be offended. If we want to be strong here, if we want to stand against the employer's attacks in the future, we must stand together. Do you give us the signing authority? You have given the authority; I respect it in whatever sense you gave it, but I want to sign this collective bargaining agreement just as İZELMAN signed it, thinking of the future and in order not to be left alone. I will never betray this trust of yours."

"WE WILL GO WHEN NEWS COMES"

Gül stated that Branches 1 and 3 had gone to the meeting and that they would go when they received word, saying, "As a result of the meeting we held yesterday, we held a representative board meeting. There was a small snag. That snag still continues. A meeting is currently being held with CHP Deputy Chairmen. We have truly put up a struggle worthy of us, which is worthy of praise. Our only concern was to get equal pay for equal work. At the point we have reached, the difference between what was demanded and the 19 percent inflation adjustment remains around 50 TL. We are looking for a way out of a deadlock because our Branches 3 and 1 have gone to the meeting. They will meet with them first and then with us. We will also go when the news comes. As the hours pass, the atmosphere is getting tense," he said.

"WE MADE A DECISION TO PREVENT THE DISINTEGRATION OF THE ORGANIZATION"

Stating that they made a decision to prevent the disintegration of the organization, Gül said, "We held a meeting with our representative friends and we appeared before you as a whole because we need to be a whole. If we fall apart when an attack comes tomorrow, it won't work. Our branch presidents at İZELMAN said, 'We will finalize this collective bargaining agreement.' There is an organization here; we have been walking the path together since the first day. They did not make any move that would harm the process in any way. There was a lot of prejudice, but I believe we have broken them. We made a decision to prevent the disintegration of the organization. I know there are those who think differently, those who want it to end on one side. I am here; the employer has a request. You have always told us, 'set up a ballot box'," he said.

Addressing the workers in the field by asking, ‘Do you give the authority?’, Gül concluded his statement with the following expressions:

"We know what we will face if we act discordantly. There were concerns that the Headquarters would intervene, but it has been seen that these were wrong. If we want to enter the future stronger, we must first protect our organization. Perhaps there will be those among you who react, but I am not in favor of setting up a ballot box; however, we have to make a decision where we see that the organization will be divided in two this way. If you give us the authority, we will bring the collective bargaining agreement (TİS) to the final point. If you do not give us the authority, we will not be offended. If we want to be strong here, if we want to stand against the employer's attacks in the future, we must stand together. Do you give us the signing authority? You have given the authority; I respect it in whatever sense you gave it, but I want to sign this collective bargaining agreement just as İZELMAN signed it, thinking of the future and in order not to be left alone. I will never betray this trust of yours."