New wave of labor protests against inflation in Turkey / What is the real rate of inflation in Turkey?

According to the report of the International Economic Group of Fars News Agency, citing Socialist World, the increase in inflation and bad working conditions along with the spread of poverty have caused many workers in Turkey to go on strike. For example, a few weeks ago, the workers of two car parts production factories of Standard Profile Company in Manisa and Dozje of this country went on strike and occupied the factory. They wanted to improve working conditions and increase their salaries.

After this strike, Farooq Ozlu, the mayor of Dozjeh and a member of the Justice and Development Party, threatened the workers and said: This action is illegal and very bad, and the workers are at risk of losing all their rights. The strike ended on August 9 after the factory managers accepted the workers’ request.

According to the agreement, 28% will be added to the workers’ salaries and they will be allocated a purchase fund worth 1500 liras.

In general, among the Turkish working class, we see an increase in dissatisfaction with the problems caused by the ever-increasing cost of living and the decrease in the real value of their salaries.

In July, the inflation rate in Turkey reached 79.6%, but the Inflation Research Group, which is an international analytical institution, calculated the real inflation rate in Turkey at 176%.

In general, employers are lowering the real value of workers’ wages; Because they determine the amount of increase in their salaries at a figure much lower than the actual rate of inflation in this country.

According to a report of a government institution in Turkey, the poverty line in this country has increased to 22,280 liras, equivalent to 1,240 dollars, and the hunger line in this country for a family of 4 is 6,840 liras, which is equivalent to 380 dollars. This is while the minimum salary set in Turkey for workers is 5500 lira.

According to a survey conducted by the Consumer Rights Association in Turkey, 90% of the country’s population lives below the poverty line. The unprecedented expansion of deprivation and poverty actually means that a significant amount of wealth has gone from the pockets of the working class to the capitalist environment.

According to Senul Babusko, a professor at one of Turkey’s universities, the country’s banking sector earned 34 billion liras in the first 6 months of 2021, and this figure has quadrupled to 169 billion liras for the same period of this year.

In the shadow of the social atmosphere in Turkey and rising economic tensions due to the consequences of the spread of the Corona virus and the military conflict in Ukraine, workers are increasingly trying to get more rights and better living conditions.

In general, during the past days, the workers of many companies in Turkey have gone on strike or protested. For example, Salcomp Xiaomi went on strike after firing 400 workers and protested against the Turkish Steel Workers Union. Technomix workers in Bursa recently also went on strike.

After the workers of Amazon company went on strike in England, the workers of this company in Turkey also went on strike on August 8 in front of one of the warehouses of Amazon in Kocaeli province. About 3,000 workers participated in this strike, whose income is only 100 liras more than the minimum wage of 5,500 liras.

The workers of ETF Istanbul textile company were also attacked by the police after 19 days of strike.

The workers of many companies in Turkey, from municipal service workers to active workers in the field of patient care services and medical services, have protested their working conditions and have gone on strike. Kartal municipal workers also want to go on strike in the coming days.

In general, the wave of strikes formed in Turkey among the working class of this country is a kind of protest against capitalism. After a wave of strikes and mass protests in Sri Lanka led to the resignation of the country’s president, government officials in Turkey are worried about witnessing similar events in the country.

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