VZCZCXRO4298
RR RUEHIK
DE RUEHAK #1708/01 3351656
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 011656Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1348
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001708 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR DRL/ILSCR AND EUR/SE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB PHUM PGOV TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY: MIXED REVIEWS ON NOVEMBER 25 STRIKE 
 
REF:  A) ANKARA 1680 
      B) ANKARA 1562 
 
ANKARA 00001708  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  The nationwide strike by civil service workers 
November 25 drew more participants than expected and reduced the 
traffic flow in the country's main urban centers as many workers 
stayed home.  Ankara airport was chaotic in the morning but ghostly 
quiet by late afternoon.  Union leaders seem pleased with the 
strike's result, while government officials contend this was a 
political exercise since the two main organizers have links to the 
opposition parties.  The main point of contention - whether 
International Labor Organization (ILO) treaties reign supreme on 
allowing public workers to strike - seems destined to be settled by 
the courts.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (U) The media reported that strike activities occurred throughout 
the country November 25, and that the private sector Revolutionary 
Labor Unions Confederation (DISK), Turkish Labor Unions 
Confederation (Turk-Is), and private sector unions for medical 
doctors and pharmacists had announced their support for the work 
stoppage.  While the highest reported numbers of participants were 
in Ankara and Istanbul, clashes between protesters and police 
occurred in Corum, and police prevented demonstrators from marching 
to the town center in Yozgat.  Peaceful activities were reported in 
Eskisehir, Balikesir, Erzurum, Canakkale, Tokat, Konya, Bitlis, 
Kirklareli, Bursa, Malatya, Hatay, Kayseri, Aydi, Sivas, Denizli, 
Diyarbakir, Mugla, Samsun, Gumushane, Van, Elzaig, Tekirdag, Agri, 
Mersin and Zonguldak.  In Gaziantep, media reports indicated that 
workers gathered in the city center to protest the GOT and the USG, 
burning U.S. dollars. 
 
Appeal to PM Erdogan 
-------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The leftist-oriented Public Employees Unions Confederation 
(KESK) president Sami Evren took part in the strike in Istanbul, 
where 10,000 public workers marched from Capa to Bayazit and around 
30,000 people gathered in Bayazit Square.  Evren appealed to PM 
Erdogan to uphold Article 90 of the Constitution, which establishes 
the supremacy of international treaties over domestic law.  KESK and 
the nationalist-oriented Public Workers Unions Confederation 
(KAMU-SEN) both believe this article should guarantee the right to 
collective bargaining and strikes, through the ILO treaties Turkey 
has signed.  Evren underscored this, declaring that it was illegal 
for Erdogan to threaten the democratic activities of the unions 
through state authority. 
 
¶4. (SBU) KESK legal advisor Ismet Beyli claimed December 1 that 
overall participation in the strike had been "very high" -- around 
90 percent.  He told us the strike was a turning point in Turkey's 
labor movement, not only because it was the largest ever of its kind 
but also because it included all of the provinces.  He said that the 
government should ask itself how participation could be so high, 
"despite the threat of the state officials."  The public had also 
been generally supportive of the strike, he said, aside from a few 
isolated incidents at some train stations.  Beyli said the 
government has launched administrative investigations against some 
KESK members, asking why the employees had been absent from work on 
November 25.  Beyli stated that the government "may give 
administrative punishments or make deductions in salaries, (but) we 
will apply to the Council of State against those practices and we 
will win those cases." 
 
¶5. (SBU) KAMU-SEN President Bircan Akyildiz participated in the 
strike in Ankara, where a group of his union members was disbursed 
by the police using pepper gas and several people were injured. 
Akyildiz said that those Turks longing for a country without any 
public employees could now see what such a country would look like. 
The union, he said, wants its democratic, economic, social and 
political rights.  "The knife is at the bone," he added, "we cannot 
endure any more."  He complained that the same politicians who 
"caused our suffering are now trying to silence our voices through 
threats." 
 
¶6. (SBU) KAMU-SEN Secretary General Ismail Koncuk told us December 1 
that the struggle of public employees to obtain democratic rights 
had "echoed all across the country."  He said that the participation 
was greater than the unions had estimated.  He lamented the 
pressures and "threats" that many members faced before the strike. 
In some places, he alleged that strike participants had been filmed 
by security forces and some employees were compelled to explain 
their actions to their bosses upon return to work.  Such practices 
are against international agreements, Article 90 of the Constitution 
and basic principles of democracy, he claimed. 
 
GOT:  No Constitutional Right to Strike 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) The GOT maintained its position that it sees no right to 
strike for public workers in either domestic or international law. 
 
ANKARA 00001708  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
PM Erdogan said the strike was not legal because "there cannot be 
any rights that are not mentioned in the laws."  Huseyin Celik, one 
of the ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) 
vice-chairpersons, emphasized that the right to strike is not in the 
constitution.  Istanbul Governor Muammer Guler echoed this theme, 
noting that while he respects workers seeking rights, "if they 
attempt acts that are not in compliance with the law, they will be 
subject to administrative and disciplinary consequences." 
 
¶8. (SBU) AKP Vice-Chairman Huseyin Tanriverdi told us December 1 
that there was no reason for public employees to strike because 
collective talks had already been completed and the unions had 
reached agreement on 18 chapters.  Tanriverdi argued that demanding 
the right of collective bargaining and striking "should not be done 
by disturbing the comfort of the citizens.  They should come and 
discuss these issues at the table."  Tanriverdi claimed that the 
unions were not pleased with the outcome of the strike since only 
two public employee confederations participated and both of those 
are aligned with opposition parties -- the Nationalist People's 
Party (MHP) and the Republican People's Party (CHP).  "This act was 
a political act rather than a move to acquire rights," he claimed. 
Regarding future steps, Tanriverdi said "ILO norms are our 
guidelines and we will provide all rights within that framework." 
 
 
A Battle for the Courts 
----------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) COMMENT:  Because this is clearly a case for judicial 
interpretation as to whether Article 90 of the constitution, and the 
ILO treaties that Turkey has signed, guarantee public sector workers 
the right to collectively bargain and strike, it is likely to wind 
up in the Turkish court system or the European Court of Human Rights 
(ECHR).  While a previous case related to the right of public sector 
workers to collectively bargain and strike (Demir and Baykara v. 
Turkey) was decided by the ECHR against Turkey, the GOT appears 
determined not to implement that decision.  With close to two 
million workers joining the strike on November 25 to demand its 
implementation, however, the GOT may decide it needs to reconsider 
its stance.