Worker who supported boycott fired based on 2-year-old disciplinary report

Cüneyt Bektaş Tişkaya, a worker at the Ecoplast factory owned by Eruslu Global—a company operating in Gaziantep and known for its proximity to the AKP—was fired after supporting a consumer boycott on social media on April 2. A disciplinary report from two years ago was cited as the reason for his dismissal.

Cüneyt Bektaş Tişkaya, who was fired for supporting the April 2 boycott, along with BİRTEK-SEN President Mehmet Türkmen and EMEP Gaziantep MP Sevda Karaca, explained the events and the allegations regarding the factory in detail.

According to the report in BirGün, Tişkaya stated regarding the incident: "After returning from my annual leave and holiday leave, they changed my shift on Wednesday. When I went to work, I worked for half an hour, and then human resources called me in. They told me I didn't like my job and showed me my past disciplinary reports. I realized their true intention later. The day before, I had shared a post on my social media account saying, 'Boycotting is our constitutional right.' Our company is a brand known for its proximity to the government and is even on boycott lists. They had issued a disciplinary report against me a month ago over 'green olives' that turned out to be spoiled, and they cited that report as the reason, saying, 'You're fired.' I filed a lawsuit against the factory the day after I was fired to claim my labor rights."

Türkmen spoke about the anti-union practices at the factory, stating:

"Last year, all workers who joined the union were fired. While some of the dismissed workers received their severance pay, others had to deal with lawsuits. This factory is hostile to workers and unions. The workplace is full of irregularities. Paying cash under the table, a 7-day work system, and mobbing. Deducting wages for days when workers are forced to be absent."

Labor Party (EMEP) Gaziantep MP Sevda Karaca criticized the Eruslu family's political connections and the tenders they received from municipalities. Karaca stated the following:

"The municipality pays exorbitant rent to a building owned by the Eruslu family for the Gaziantep Water and Sewerage Administration General Directorate (GASKİ), which is affiliated with the Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality. The AKP-run Şahinbey Municipality in Gaziantep held a diaper procurement tender, and this family won it. Since this tender was conducted via direct procurement, it is actually irregular. Furthermore, AKP-run district municipalities provide packages to families with newborns under the name of 'baby packages,' and the contents are the Sleepy brand... After the February 6 earthquakes, the factory was also provided with incentives at exorbitant rates. We mentioned this in our parliamentary question, but we have neither received a response nor do we know its status."