In February 2010, new members of Birleşik Metal-Is at Ekoendustri came under attack by management, which fired 15 active union leaders after the workers applied for union representation to the Labour Ministry. Other union members faced intense harassment and intimidation by the company, which pressured workers to resign from Birleşik Metal-Is or face dismissal. In August and September 2009, the union had begun an organising drive inside Ekoendustri, a company that produces automotive components, white goods components and also sports equipment.
In February, TURK-Is affiliate TES-KOOP-IS protested against problems with the management of Tesco Kipa Store in Istanbul. It denounced management’s behaviour which included penalising union members, cross-examining them and forcing some of them to resign from the union. Those who refused were fired without due explanation. Since 2003 the union has been trying to organise workers at Tesco Kipa stores, and as a result many workers have been dismissed or have had their promotions blocked.
In November, six workers who had been involved in union organisation activities for the National Port and Land Stevedores’ Union of Turkey (Liman-İş), a TURK-Is affiliate, were dismissed by a subcontractor at the Mersin Port Services, Seamanship & Transportation Trade Co. The union, however, reacted swiftly and provided them with employment at another subcontractor of the same company.
End December, Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International (ISG) dismissed 160 workers without following the procedures required by Turkish law. The TURK-Is-affiliated civil aviation workers’ union Hava-İş pointed out that the dismissals occurred just a few days after a ruling by the Court of Appeal, which confirmed the Ministry of Labour and Social Security’s decision that ISG should be treated under the ‘air transport’ branch of activity for the purposes of trade union establishment procedures.