In the morning of October 16 nearly 25,000 Telekom workers went on strike after negotiations on a labour agreement between the Turk Telekom and the trade union Haber-Is got stuck.
In Istanbul the workers gathered in front of the general director´s office of the Telekom in Gayrettepe in the morning accompanied by a huge mass of policemen. They hanged up a banner read "This workplace is on strike". In a speech hold in the name of Haber-Is, it was said that the strike will affect many sectors such as from banking to internet service, from OGS camera systems to the stock market. It was also said that 2600 workers in Istanbul were on strike.
The leaders of the trade union Petrol-Is, Tek Gida-Is and Tekstil-Sen showed their solidarity by visiting the strikers.
In Ankara the strike was started with a statement in front of the Turk Telekom local director`s building. Here, the president of Haber-is hold a speech and the workers shouted the slogans "We will stop working, this is over" and "Boss, don`t be surprised, don`t provoke our patience".
The Socialist Platform of the Oppressed (ESP) made a statement on October 18 in front of the general director´s office of the Telekom in Gayrettepe, Istanbul, and called for solidarity with the Turk Telekom workers. At the action the participants shouted the slogans "The Telekom worker is not alone", "The union of the workers will beat the capital" and "Long live class solidarity".