Since 2005, the TURK-Is-affiliated Cooperative, Commerce & Office Workers’ Union of Turkey (KOOP-İŞ) has been trying to obtain collective bargaining status at the Praktiker DIY Stores Co. Turkey in Istanbul. The legal procedure for this is so lengthy that in 2010, the union could still not engage in collective bargaining in the workplace. The employer has been taking advantage of gaps in the existing laws, thus extending the procedure. In the meantime around 500 union members have been dismissed without motivation, while some of them have had to work without a pay increase for years. The union took the issue to court, trying to obtain all workers’ reinstatement. The case was still pending at the end of the year.
Furthermore, five KOOP-Is members were dismissed between 1 April and 12 November at IKEA in Osmangazi-Bursa, three between 2 July and 26 November at ADESE Shopping Centers Co. Turkey in Konya, and six between 19 April and 18 May at KOCTAS DIY Stores Co. in Istanbul. In all cases, they were forced by the employer, either individually or collectively, to resign from the union. Qualified workers who resisted were downgraded and then relocated before being dismissed.