Ten members of parliament from the CHP, Good (İYİ) Party, Green Left Party, Workers’ Party of Turkey (TİP), and Labor Party (EMEP) have brought the ongoing Sputnik strike, which has been ongoing for 44 days, to the attention of the Parliament.
The MPs asked questions to Minister of Labor and Social Security, Vedat Işıkhan, about Sputnik's dismissal of 24 journalists, the hiring of new journalists as strikebreakers, the unlawful removal of the strike declaration, and other irregularities during the strike.
Demonstration in Ankara by Sputnik strikers
In their inquiry, the parliament members sought to find out if the ministry has taken any action on this matter, whether Sputnik has been audited, whether the ministry has taken any preventive measures, and if any sanctions have been applied.
The strike by the Turkish Journalists Union (TGS) at Sputnik began on August 17, 2023, after the collective bargaining negotiations ended in deadlock.
Sputnik strike: Court rejects request by management to suspend the strike
The strike
MP Selcan Taşçı Hamşıoğlu summarized the process in her motion as follows:
During this process:
- TGS's legally posted strike declaration at Sputnik Turkey's Istanbul and Ankara offices on July 24, 2023, was torn down by a representative of the Ankara office.
- Representatives and managers of the Istanbul and Ankara offices forced Sputnik Turkey's union members to resign from the union.
- Pressured them to be dismissed if they did not resign from the union.
- On August 7, 2023, a total of 24 union members, including the workplace union representative, were collectively dismissed on economic grounds.
As a result, criminal complaints were filed for reasons such as exerting pressure on the employer and representatives, employing undeclared workers in place of those dismissed or on strike, and complaints were made to the relevant state institutions.
While the legal strike was ongoing, the employer hired 18 people as insured workers to replace the dismissed workers, which is contrary to the Constitution and the laws.
Questions
Following the summary, Selcan Taşçı Hamşıoğlu, along with other parliament members, posed the following questions:
1. What actions did you take as the Ministry in response to the employer's violation of the Constitution and Law No. 6356 on Trade Unions and Collective Labor Agreements?
2. Have you taken any measures against the employer representatives' pressure on union members? If so, what measures?
3. Have you conducted any inspections regarding strikebreakers and undeclared workers that were used to diminish the impact of the strike, as allowed by the Trade Unions and Collective Labor Agreements Law? If so, what were the results?
4. Can an employer who dismissed 24 workers on economic grounds hire 8 new workers under the same economic conditions?
5. Is it a coincidence that the workplace representative, who is clearly protected by our laws, is among the 24 union members who were dismissed?
6. Have you taken any steps to inspect and cancel the work permits of employer representatives who are not Turkish citizens due to their actions contrary to the Constitution and our laws? If not, will you take any such steps? (VC/VK)