Fernas workers find no one to address their grievances, begin hunger strike
Fernas workers, who demanded improvements to poor working conditions and arrived in Ankara after marching barefoot, were met with police intervention. The workers, who have begun a hunger strike, stated, "We will not eat a single bite until we achieve results."
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The resistance of miners who were dismissed from Fernas Madencilik, a company owned by AKP MP Ferhat Nasıroğlu in the Soma district of Manisa, for joining the Independent Mine Workers Union (Bağımsız Maden İşçileri Sendikası), continues.
The workers, who marched from Soma to Ankara on September 25 because their demands were not met, faced police intervention today while attempting to march to the Ministry of Energy. Among the workers who were blockaded in Kurtuluş Park, some fell ill and were taken to the hospital by ambulance.
'WE WILL NOT EAT A SINGLE BITE, WE WILL NOT SPEAK A SINGLE WORD'
The workers, who are continuing their resistance in Kurtuluş Park in Çankaya, announced that they have started a hunger strike until their demands are met.
The workers made the following statement: "We wanted to march today to present the report we prepared regarding the high risk of death at Fernas to the Ministry of Energy and to demand that they conduct an inspection, but our path was blocked. As of now, we have decided not to eat until a solution is provided and until we achieve results. We are on a hunger strike. We tried to explain our plight clearly to the press, members of parliament, and the public, but we achieved no results. We held meetings with all parties that have groups in Parliament and met with department heads at the ministry level. No one could tell us that we were doing anything wrong, but they could not provide a solution either. As of this hour, we are ceasing communication with politicians, the press, and authorities, and we will not take a step back until a solution is developed. We will not eat a single bite, we will not speak a single word. We demand that this issue be treated as one of the most important issues in Turkey."