In response to organising efforts by the union Tekgida-Iş, the dairy company Sütaş started to target workers who joined unions for dismissal. So far 83 workers have been dismissed after joining the union in two factories in Bursa-Karacabey and Istanbul-Aksaray. Many workers are harassed and compelled to resign their union membership by threats and calls to their families. Other workers have been dismissed for posting comments critical of the company on social media. Management forces workers to give their passwords for government institutions so that the company can establish who is a union member.
Dismissed workers together with their families have been picketing at the factory gate since April 2014. Management surrounded the area with trucks to prevent the picketers from being seen. When the dismissed workers refused to disperse, management poured 13 tons of liquid manure on the sit-in area. While this was intended to end the picket and disperse the protesters, it attracted flies onto the dairy plant and compromised food safety. Eventually management had to clean up the area and disinfect the surrounding villages.
The owner of the factory, Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association Chairman Muharrem Yilmaz, stood down from this position after news broke of the manure scandal at the Sütaş factory.