A machinery manufacturer in İstanbul fired all 35 of its unionized production workers after Turkey’s Labor Ministry confirmed that their union had secured the required majority for collective bargaining, the Evrensel daily reported.
The dismissals at Volvac Paketleme ve Gıda Makinaları in İstanbul’s Tuzla district left only 16 of the factory’s 51 employees, none of them union members, Birleşik Metal-İş İstanbul branch president Can Emrah Ülgü said.
The company dismissed five union members on October 23 and the remaining 30 on October 30, according to Ülgü. Production has stopped, with only administrative and sales staff still working.
Workers began protesting outside the factory on October 26 over the dismissal of the first five workers. The union said Monday that the protest had entered its eighth day and would continue until all dismissed workers were reinstated and their union rights were recognized.
Workers started organizing with Birleşik Metal-İş, an affiliate of the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DİSK), in September. The ministry notified the union on October 15 that it had secured the required membership majority.
Ülgü accused the company of firing the workers over their union membership and said they had received no severance pay.
Article 51 of Turkey’s constitution guarantees the right to form and join unions, while Article 25 of the country’s law on unions and collective bargaining prohibits dismissals or discrimination based on union membership or activities.
Turkey was ranked among the world’s 10 worst countries for workers’ rights in the International Trade Union Confederation’s (ITUC) 2026 Global Rights Index, which documented dismissals and pressure on union members, as well as the prosecution of union leaders over their activities.
