Sinem Nazlı Demir - 12punto.com.tr
The tender process for the new Provincial Police Department building, which is under construction in the Maltepe neighborhood of Sakarya's Adapazarı district, could not be concluded six times previously. The project, with an estimated cost calculated at 517 million 353 thousand liras, was awarded to Ilgazlar İnşaat with a bid of 627 million 770 thousand liras.
A contract was signed between the General Directorate of Security and the company on February 23, 2024. The campus, planned to have a total closed area of 26 thousand square meters and three separate blocks, was expected to be completed in 830 days and delivered in June 2026. However, the building could not be completed despite the delivery deadline passing.
The wage problem at the construction site did not come to the agenda for the first time with the current resistance. Workers who are members of the Yapı-Yol İş Union, working under a different subcontractor, also held a protest in February 2026, stating that they had not been able to collect their receivables for seven months. The workers currently continuing the resistance are working under Sertmak Proje, the subcontractor for mechanical works.
Following these developments, Ilgazlar İnşaat filed for concordat with the Ankara 2nd Commercial Court of First Instance. The court issued a three-month temporary grace period decision for the company and İsmail Ilgaz starting from May 11, 2026, and appointed a three-person concordat commissioner committee. The company later announced that the period had been extended by two months starting from August 11.
“THERE ARE THOSE AMONG US WHO HAVE NOT RECEIVED A SALARY FOR FOUR MONTHS”
The protest process leading to today's resistance began on August 18. The workers claimed that they went to the company's office to demand their wages but were told, “There is no salary for you, apply to whoever you want.” Upon this, 26 workers who started a protest at the construction site demanded the payment of their wages as well as their receivables arising from overtime, weekly holidays, and official holiday work.
According to the workers, new employees were brought to the construction site before their wages were paid. The workers' spokesperson explained what happened to 12punto as follows:
“They brought a new team here without paying our wages. A few times, the company owner İsmail Ilgaz met with us along with his lawyers, and after the meeting, they tried to make us look like we were in debt. There are workers among us who have not received a salary for four months.”
When the protest did not yield results, some workers climbed onto the roof of the building on August 25. Police, fire, and medical teams were dispatched to the area. The workers, who came down from the roof after negotiations, announced that they would not leave the construction site until all their receivables were paid.
WORKERS SAID THEY WERE SHOWN AS DEBTORS WHILE THEY WERE CREDITORS
In the following days, the timesheets and receivable accounts prepared by the company created a new controversy. The workers argued that Sundays, official holidays, and overtime were not included in the calculation, and that their 30 days of work in some months were shown as 26 days.
It was claimed that although some master workers had receivables reaching 300-400 thousand liras, they were shown as owing 30-40 thousand liras to the company in the prepared accounts. Stating that they worked on a daily wage basis and that payments were made through the bank, the workers said that it was impossible for such a debt to occur.
The workers' spokesperson stated that İsmail Ilgaz met with them several times with his lawyers, but after these meetings, they were tried to be shown as debtors instead of having their rights paid.
“İsmail Ilgaz INSULTED US”
It was alleged that İsmail Ilgaz, who came to the construction site while the resistance was continuing, insulted and threatened the workers and the representatives of the 'Patronların Ensesindeyiz' (We Are on the Bosses' Necks) network. The workers' spokesperson, speaking to 12punto, stated that although they complained to the police, they were only told not to make contact with Ilgaz:
“İsmail Ilgaz insulted us, said unspeakable words, and said, ‘I have this and that behind me.’ We tell the police, ‘The company owner İsmail Ilgaz is swearing at us,’ and the police tell us, ‘Okay, but do not make contact.’ But if we did the same, they wouldn't say that. Then they told us they would give us our rights, but they didn't.”
According to the workers, the catering service at the construction site was cut off to end the resistance, the electricity in the dormitories where they stayed was turned off, and there was an attempt to remove the containers from the construction site with a crane. The workers opposed this attempt by saying, “Rights first, then the container.” Upon the company's complaint, some workers were taken to the police station to have their statements taken; after being released, they returned to the construction site.
The workers' spokesperson described their experience regarding housing and nutrition with the words, “They tried to remove the containers we were staying in. They also cut off our food, and later they gave some meals and didn't give others.”
“THERE ARE THOSE AMONG US WHO HAVE NOT SEEN THEIR CHILDREN FOR MONTHS”
The workers moved their protest to Adapazarı Station Square on August 31. In the statement made there, it was stated that the security, housing, food, and drinking water conditions at the construction site were insufficient. The workers said that their shifts, which started at 08.00 in the morning, lasted until 19.00 on some days, and that they also worked on Sundays and holidays, but they did not receive the compensation for this work.
The non-payment of wages also directly affected the workers' families. A worker, a father of two, explained that one of his children was a newborn and that he could not meet basic needs such as diapers and formula because he could not send money home. The workers' spokesperson also stated that there were people among them who came to Sakarya from other cities to work, saying, “There are those among us who have not seen their children for months.”
THE COMPANY DENIED THE ALLEGATIONS
Ilgazlar İnşaat, in its statement reflected to the public, argued that those protesting were not the company's direct employees, but employees of the subcontractor Sertmak. The company announced that it terminated the contract with Sertmak on August 17 on the grounds of “failure to fulfill work obligations and attitudes contrary to the contract.”
The company claimed that although it had no direct legal responsibility, it deposited payments for April, May, and June into the workers' bank accounts, and that only the remaining receivables for July were being evaluated during the concordat process.
The company, which also alleged that some employees used the construction site's vehicles and materials without permission to work at another construction site in Akyazı, announced that it had filed a criminal complaint against Sertmak officials and some workers. There is no finalized judicial decision reflected to the public regarding these allegations.
The workers, on the other hand, argue that working under a subcontractor does not eliminate the responsibility of the main contractor. Article 2 of the Labor Law No. 4857 regulates that in a principal employer-subcontractor relationship where the necessary conditions are met, the principal employer is also jointly liable with the subcontractor to the workers.
“THEY OFFERED A QUARTER OF WHAT WE DESERVE”
In the following days of the resistance, the concordat commissioners promised that the wages would be paid by Friday morning. Upon this, the workers temporarily paused their protest without leaving the construction site. 'Patronların Ensesindeyiz' also waited in good faith until the end of the workday on Friday, but no concrete step was taken to pay the workers' receivables.
The promise made by the concordat commissioners remained unfulfilled due to İsmail Ilgaz's offer, which did not even reach half of the workers' total receivables.
The 'Patronların Ensesindeyiz' Network announced that less than half of their total receivables were offered to the workers. The workers' spokesperson, in his statement to 12punto, said that the amount offered to them was only a quarter of their actual receivables:
“The wage given to us is a quarter of what we deserve. Then they told us they would give us our rights, but they didn't.”
The workers did not accept the offer and demanded that their wages, overtime, weekly holidays, and other labor receivables be paid in full. 'Patronların Ensesindeyiz' representative Murat Taksim also reacted to the partial payment offer with the words, “We are not selling anything. We are demanding the wage that is the compensation for our labor. There is no bargaining for this.”
“WE ARE ON THE ROOF NOW, WE ARE ALSO STRUGGLING BELOW”
Upon the failure to fulfill the payment promise, the workers climbed onto the roof of the building again on the morning of September 8. Chanting slogans such as “İsmail Ilgaz, give us our rights,” “Construction worker is not a slave,” and “We are on the bosses' necks,” the workers also continued their protests in front of the construction site and in Sakarya squares.
The workers' spokesperson stated that the struggle was not limited to the workers on the roof, saying, “We are on the roof now, and we are continuing our struggle below as well.”
News Source: Sinem Nazlı Demir
