Miners march to Ankara in protest against privatisation

Labour Service

The miners, who started underground resistance on 20 November 2024 against the privatisation of Çayırhan Thermal Power Plant and mining sites in Nallıhan district of Ankara, started a march from Beypazarı to the Privatisation Administration in Ankara yesterday. The march started at 09.00 yesterday. Nurettin Akçul, President of the Turkish Mine Workers Union, made a short statement before the start of the march and said:

"We have been struggling for months, Turkey heard our voice but the Ministry did not. We interrupted our march, which we started in November, with all our good intentions when the privatisation to be held in December was postponed to March. We will continue our struggle until this asset sale under the name of privatisation is cancelled. During this period, we said that the Ministry would make the necessary negotiations with us and give up this decision. Because we were filled with the belief that “Our state protects its workers, cares for the labourer, does not create victims out of the righteous”. But unfortunately, no one has knocked on the worker's door for months. This is our work, our sweat, our future, our bread and butter. If we give up today, our children will ask for an account tomorrow. We no longer want postponement and stalling, we want this decision to be completely abandoned. Let's protect our national wealth together."

Noting that the specifications were amended in a few articles, Akçul explained the amended articles as follows:

"In these articles, which are announced as good news, the number of workers is stated as 2050 and supposedly assured. But there is no regulation on vested rights. They have given a favour by increasing the 4 months they set as the period of vacating the lodgings to 12 months. Are they underestimating our intelligence, or are they just giving us a small taste to keep us quiet?"

CANCEL THE PRIVITISATION

Approximately 500 mine workers went underground and locked themselves in the mine on 19 November against the decision to privatise the Çayırhan Thermal Power Plant mine sites. The resistance of the miners underground then spread to all the mines, and miners began to struggle against privatisation both underground and above ground. After 9 days of resistance, a march to the Ministry of Treasury and Finance started on 28 November, and as the march continued, the Privatisation Administration announced that the tender was postponed for three months. ‘The postponement is a distraction, the privatisation should be cancelled,’ the workers said in reaction to the decision.

Source: Madenciler adım adım Ankara’ya