In the metal industry, many cases of union busting were registered in 2020. Employers resort to discriminatory and anti-union measures to avoid recognising unions. The most common tactic is to fire enough union members to bring the numbers below the recognition threshold. This is what happened to Birleşik Metal-İş, which organised the majority of workers at Özer Elektrik, an electrical appliances producer. Before they could apply to the Ministry, the company fired ten members and called security forces to disperse union members. Union leaders were taken into custody to frighten the workers away from union membership.
Similarly, in August 2020, shortly before Türk Metal filed its petition for recognition, cable manufacturer Ünal Kablo fired 31 union members, bringing the numbers below the threshold. Another union, Özçelik-İş, applied for collective bargaining certification at Sampa Otomotiv, showing that it represented a majority of workers. The company responded by dismissing 71 union members.
