Detentions won't stop the struggle for bread

Labour Service

Yesterday, on the 13th day of their protest, Migros warehouse workers, led by the Warehouse, Port, Shipyard and Maritime Workers' Union (DGD-SEN), were detained after going to the front of the villa of Tuncay Özilhan, owner of the Anadolu Group, in Beykoz. The workers had been detained in the same manner at the same location in recent days. Yesterday, 100 workers were handcuffed and taken to Vatan Police Station. Among those detained was a 50-year-old temporary worker who had fainted during the protest.

Before their detention, the workers made a statement in front of their boss's house, saying they had returned to their “family homes” and reacting by saying, ‘If asking for a raise and seeking our rights is a crime, then we will continue to commit crimes.’ While waiting in front of the villa, the workers chanted the slogan, ‘There will be no peace for Özilhan while the workers are hungry.’

During the protest, one worker fainted due to low blood pressure. Speaking in front of the villa, DGD-SEN President Neslihan Acar said, "Whether it takes days or months, this is our only place of resistance. We are calling out from here, and we know they hear us. As we take up the struggle, we have the support of the working people behind us. We need to unite around the resistance even more. Do everything you can, because they are not. If we win, it will be thanks to you."

WE WILL NOT GIVE UP OUR RIGHTS

DGD-SEN Organising Specialist Azad Erdin stated that things must change in the country, saying, "Workers gathered in twelve warehouses. They ask, “How did the workers come together?” There is no tolerance for workers coming together, not even for the simplest human demand. They think they can end this resistance with arrests, pressure, and different stories. The workers will not give up seeking their rights.‘

Criticising Özilhan's ’We are family‘ statement, Erdin said, "You say “we are family”, then stand in front of the workers and talk. Solve the problem, let the workers get back to work. But in their arrogant world, this does not exist. There is no standing side by side with the workers, no making a phone call, no asking “what is your problem”. That's why they go out and tell the media “we pay good money”. They look down on us. This is exactly what we are saying: Either they will come out of their arrogant world or this struggle will continue."

WE ARE HERE TO GET WHAT WE DESERVE

Ayşe, a 60-year-old worker who calls out to the boss from the door and works as a cleaner at the Migros warehouse, said, ‘I am a 60-year-old working woman. If you saw the building I live in, it's almost falling apart. Could you live like this? You're 70 years old, where are you going to take this wealth? We'll all end up in the same grave.’

Saying that what keeps a person alive is honour, dignity and pride, the worker continued: "I'm fighting for my bread. I can't make ends meet, my friend. I can't live on the wages you give me. I can't live on a poverty wage! I cleaned those products with my own hands so that people could eat them healthily. I am a cleaner. You cannot look down on me. Without me, you would not exist. What do you want? Should we steal, should we cheat? Should I not defend my rights? I cannot pay my rent; I am in debt. I want what I have earned. I didn't damage a single bag while fighting. I'm that proud, that honourable. Come out, speak up. I'm right. I'm absolutely right. Because I worked with my own hands. Now I want what I've earned."

Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Ekmek kavgasına gözaltılar sökmez, published in BirGün newspaper on February 5, 2026.