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Turkish commercial
workers accuse Metro of union busting
Turkish Uni Commerce affiliate Tez-Koop-Is accuses German multinational Metro of systematic union-busting. The union says that Metro's Turkish management puts strong pressure on workers to get them to leave the union. In a situation where unemployment is high and jobs are rare, many workers see no other choice than to give in to this pressure. Also trade union representatives have been fired because of their union activities, the union says. I an effort to stop the deterioration of labour relations in Turkey, Uni Commerce and its German affiliates DAG and HBV brokered an agreement last October, where management assured that it would respect the basic ILO labour conventions. Even this did not stop the Turkish managers, says Tez-Koop-Is. The Uni Commerce affiliate has been able to document several cases where management has violated trade union rights after the Frankfurt agreement was signed. In addition to pressure on workers and dismissal of unionists, the company has paid the registration expenses for workers leaving the union. According to Turkish legislation, both joining a trade union and leaving it is subject to a verification by a notary, who charges a fee for this. It is hardly surprising that Metro has not paid the notary fees for those who have joined. After years of systematic campaigning, the Metro management in Turkey has succeeded to bring union membership under the 50 per cent limit, which would guarantee workers the right to union representation and collective agreement. Immediately, the company refused to prolong the existing agreement and proceeded to close the facilities, which union representatives had enjoyed. Also employment conditions in Metro Turkey are deplorable, the union says. Part-time workers are poorly paid, less than a German Mark ( 50 US Cents) per hour and those who are not management favourites can easily see their weekly working hours decline. The situation is not made more attractive by the fact that the part-timers are mainly young women. Uni Commerce is now consulting with Tez-Koop-Is about how to approach this situation. Contacts have also been taken with the Metro AG management in Germany, but until now with poor results. For Tez-Koop-Is, it is difficult to understand why a company which respects workers' and trade union rights at home in Germany and in other countries has this Wal-Mart kind of approach in Turkey.
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