‘Democracy and peace are equal to bread and water’: Turkish trade unionists address conference

Mehmet Bozgeyik, president of KESK, Turkish Confederation of Public Service Workers, delivered a passionate speech to UNISON’s national delegate conference this morning. Addressing the conference in Turkish, with translation from a colleague, he acknowledged that this was the first time he had been able to travel abroad in six years due to a travel ban imposed on the trade union activists. Hundreds of delegates raised ‘Free Gonul’ signs in solidarity with Gonul Erden, the Turkish Trade union leader currently imprisoned in the country. UNISON attended the first day of her trial earlier this year and general secretary Christina McAnea is due to attend the next day of Ms Erden’s trial on 4 July 2022. In 2012, Mehmet Bozgeyik and his colleagues were detained in prison for almost ten months for demanding trade union rights, and peace and democracy in the country. He said: “We were released from prison mainly because of the solidarity action from the international trade union movement, including UNISON’s colleagues. Thank you again for this solidarity.” Mr Bozgeyik described the bleak state of affairs for the left in Turkey: “We are being terrorised for our activities. Just last night, sixteen journalists were sent to prison.” He also described how public services were under extreme pressure, some failing, due to privatisation: “these failures are a result of neoliberal policies, subcontracting and the outsourcing of public services in Turkey, as is the case wit...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - Category: Food Science Authors: Tags: News 2022 National Delegate Conference Source Type: news