Polonez workers break through barricade, marching to Ankara!
Polonez workers, who have been resisting for months for their rights and moved their protests to the Kartal Courthouse yesterday, have set off for Ankara to make their voices heard further. Having broken through the police blockade that had been in place since the night, the workers are now moving toward Ankara via the coastal road.
Hazal Güven
Hazal Güven - 12punto.com.tr
The struggle of Polonez workers, who joined the Tekgıda-İş Union in response to harsh working conditions, humiliation, and low wages imposed by their Jordanian employer, and subsequently went on strike after 146 workers were fired, has been ongoing for weeks.
On December 6, workers who went from the Polonez factory in Çatalca to the Çatalca Courthouse wanted to move their resistance to Ankara to make their voices heard by the authorities.
Following the obstructions in Çatalca, the Polonez workers moved their protests to the front of the Kartal Anatolian Courthouse yesterday, spending the night in the cold in front of the courthouse. The workers' request to set up tents was blocked by the intervention of police forces. The workers' food and drinks were scattered on the ground during the police's harsh intervention.
'WE BROKE THE BARRICADE, THERE IS NO TURNING BACK!'
The Polonez workers, determined to make their voices heard in Ankara, had been under a police blockade since the night. However, the workers managed to break through the police barricade around noon today. Speaking to 12punto on behalf of the Polonez workers who have set off for Ankara, Tek Gıda-İş Union Organizing Specialist Suat Karlıkaya stated: "The road is open, we are marching to Ankara." Karlıkaya added the following:
"As we have said from the beginning; this is a march for constitutional rights. This is a march for justice. We want to make our voices heard in Ankara to claim what is rightfully ours. We have opened the road now; we have broken through the police barricade. There is no turning back from this struggle. Our march to Ankara continues with excitement and determination."