Turkish police detained two union officials and two miners during a Tuesday protest outside the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry over unpaid wages and other compensation, while the head of the miners union was detained separately at its headquarters in western Turkey, the TR724 news website reported.
The detentions came on the 16th day of a protest in Ankara by workers employed by mining and energy businesses belonging to Yıldızlar SSS Holding, a Turkish conglomerate active in mining, energy and manufacturing. The protesters include workers from Doruk Madencilik, which operates a coal mine and thermal power plant in the central province of Eskişehir, and Eti Gümüş, a silver mining and processing company based in Kütahya. Workers say months of wages, severance payments and other benefits remain unpaid despite earlier agreements involving government officials.
Those detained outside the ministry were Independent Mine Workers Union organizer Başaran Aksu, union official Eyip Can and two miners. Can and the miners were later released, while Aksu was released and then detained again at a hospital on suspicion of inciting hatred and hostility, according to the union.
Union President Gökay Çakır was detained around the same time at the organization’s headquarters in Soma, a mining town about 450 kilometers (280 miles) southwest of Istanbul. The union said prosecutors cited its social media posts and were investigating Çakır on the same accusation of inciting hatred and hostility.
The latest detentions followed several police interventions since the workers returned to Ankara this month. Eighty-two miners were detained during one protest earlier in August, while Aksu and Çakır have been taken into custody multiple times and later released.
The workers say they resumed their protest because commitments made during an earlier round of negotiations were not fulfilled. About 150 workers have participated in the latest campaign, according to the union.
The dispute dates back at least to the spring, when miners traveled to Ankara over unpaid wages and other employment claims. Turkey’s Labor and Social Security Ministry said in April that inspections had found unpaid wages and payments arising from a collective bargaining agreement at Doruk Madencilik. The ministry said it had fined the employer more than 20 million Turkish lira over violations found in 2025 and had also determined that some wages remained unpaid in 2026.
Doruk Madencilik acquired the Yunus Emre coal-fired power plant and associated mining operation in Eskişehir in 2022 after the facility had previously been taken over by Turkey’s state-run Savings Deposit Insurance Fund.
Eti Gümüş, meanwhile, was acquired by Yıldızlar SSS Holding through privatization in 2004. The company mines and processes silver and operates what the holding describes as Turkey’s only integrated facility producing metallic silver directly from ore.
At the time of the April dispute, the Labor Ministry said the company had deposited 36 million lira toward workers’ claims and had promised to pay the remainder the following week. A subsequent meeting involving representatives of the workers, the company and officials from the interior, labor and energy ministries ended with an agreement that brought the April protest to a close.
Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar later said Doruk Madencilik had experienced similar problems before and would be barred from receiving government incentives unless it paid its workers.
Yıldızlar SSS Holding disputes the workers’ account of what it owes. Company representative Ali Vahit Atıcı said Tuesday that workers had received all payments to which they were legally entitled and that other claims should be resolved through the courts. He said claims already upheld by courts would be paid soon.
The confrontation showed signs of easing Wednesday after overnight negotiations between the union and the company. Union lawyer Mürsel Ünder said the sides had reached agreement on most of the disputed payments after talks that continued until about 2:30 a.m. The union postponed further demonstrations while the final amounts were calculated, saying payments would have to reach workers’ accounts before the dispute could be considered resolved.
