Turkey: Port drivers win ground-breaking agreement

A longstanding and bitter struggle at the Turkish port of Mersin paid off after unionists won a ground-breaking agreement, giving members bargaining rights for the first time.

Port drivers, represented by the ITF-affiliated transport union Türkiye Motorlu Tasit Isçileri Sendikasi (TUMTIS), signed an agreement on 21 December 2009, following a year-long battle against the anti-union land-side company, Akansel Nakliyat. Last year the company dismissed 192 workers for joining TUMTIS; union protests eventually led to their reinstatement. Full story.

A longstanding and bitter struggle at the Turkish port of Mersin paid off after unionists won a ground-breaking agreement, giving members bargaining rights for the first time.

Port drivers, represented by the ITF-affiliated transport union Türkiye Motorlu Tasit Isçileri Sendikasi (TUMTIS), signed an agreement on 21 December 2009, following a year-long battle against the anti-union land-side company, Akansel Nakliyat. Last year the company dismissed 192 workers for joining TUMTIS; union protests eventually led to their reinstatement. Full story.