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No unfair dissmissals of union activists at IBM Turkey!
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Name: . Organisation: . Email address:
. Please type your email message here, or adapt this one: To the attention of: Sam Palmisano, CEO of IBM Dear Sir, We are disappointed to learn that a reputable company such as IBM is failing to respect recognised union rights and has instead resorted to victimising union leaders through unfair dismissals. The right to represent workers without hindrance is a fundamental union right enshrined in the ILO Conventions for which no union representative should be punished. The action taken by your company goes against ILO Convention on Workers’ Representatives and should be rescinded forthwith. We condemn the action taken by IBM and demand the immediate reinstatement of Nedim Akay who was fired Monday (November 17th) and his two colleagues and union activists Elvan Demircioglu & Berk Alev who were also dismissed without any serious business reasons (November 18th). We also urge management to engage in negotiations with the union TEZ-KOOP which has organised more than 80% of IBM staff, what had been certified by the Turkish Minister of Labour and a court decision has been published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Turkey. It has to be said that Turkish law requires only 51% of staff in the union to get official recognition. UNI Global Union and its Turkish affiliate TEZ-KOOP will fight with all the means in their hands to get the recognition of unions’ rights at IBM Turkey and the reinstatement of those unfairly fired. Please allow us to remind you that IBM declared it “...will respect the legal rights of its employees to join or to refrain from joining worker organizations, including labor organizations or trade unions. IBM respects the rights of employees to organize, and makes managers at all levels aware of those rights......” – IBM Policies: Freedom of association. I look forward to your early response. Yours sincerely,

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