Safe Demo Plastik, the Turkish subsidiary of French auto supplier Safe Group, were accused of engaging in extensive union-busting tactics against members of Petrol-İş, the oil, chemical and rubbber workers’ union in the city of Bursa, which is the centre of the auto sector in Turkey. The union has been certified by the labour ministry of Turkey; however, the company’s local management challenged the ministry’s certification in court, claiming that Petrol-İş did not have a sufficient majority to be a collective bargaining agent. Furthermore, company management has fired six workers because of their union activities and made attempts to encourage other employees to resign their union membership.
Union members staged a demonstration demanding recognition of their rights. Their demands include Safe Demo Plastik’s withdrawal of the court case and starting collective bargaining negotiations, reinstatement of the fired union members and an end to coercion of workers to quit the union.
Around the same time, the country manager of Safe Demo Plastik was sentenced to six months in prison by a magistrates’ court in Bursa over his violation of article 118 of Turkish Penal Code related to “preventing the use of trade union rights”.