When workers at smartphone producer Salcomp Turkey exercised their fundamental right to join a trade union, they faced intimidation, threats and dismissals.
Salcomp produces smart phones for the Chinese multinational Xiaomi, the second largest smartphone maker in the world. There are around 800 workers on the site in Istanbul, with plans to increase the workforce to 2,000.
Working conditions at the Salcomp Turkey plant in Istanbul were untenable. During the pandemic, workers were forced to work eleven hours per day, although their contracts say eight hours. Overtime was imposed without the workers’ consent and only partly paid. Breaks could only be taken at the managers’ discretion, and since there was no canteen, workers had to eat in containers for a while. Many workers became ill with COVID-19.
When the workers decided to join the Turkish metalworkers’ union Türk Metal in August 2021, management launched a union-busting campaign. Workers were intimidated and threatened, and 170 union members were dismissed. Around 80 per cent of the dismissed workers were women.
Salcomp management summoned workers to say that “union members have to resign from their affiliation with Türk Metal” and that “the company will make the necessary improvements in their wages and working conditions”.
When workers protested, management responded by locking all doors. According to reports, workers inside the factory were not allowed to use the toilets and were banned from using their mobile phones, cutting off communication with other workers.
After six days the protests yielded results. Salcomp management agreed to reinstate all dismissed union members, withdraw from the lawsuit challenging the collective bargaining certificate issued by the Ministry of Labour, and start collective bargaining negotiations on 1 October.
