Construction and Road Workers’ Union (Türkiye)
Since the day the working class appeared on the stage of history as a class for itself, it has proven again and again that it has the power and ability to change the world through revolutionary action. While the revolutionary classes that emerged throughout history quickly became conservative, the working class has managed to preserve its revolutionary character. Whenever a wall has been placed in its path, it has found a way to break through it. As the most revolutionary class in human history, the proletariat is the leading and main force of the era of proletarian revolutions, the noblest march in human history.
As a detachment of this revolutionary army in these lands, whenever obstacles are placed before us, we use all our abilities to find a way to overcome them. Our story is the story of the wave and the breakwater. We wear down the stone, pull away the sand, and weaken it from every side. Our aim is to destroy it and move forward.
As in other capitalist countries, legal barriers are placed in front of the economic and social struggle of the working class in Turkey. From creating independent workers’ organizations in workplaces to exercising trade union rights, legal limits are imposed so that the workers’ movement can be suppressed under the state and its laws, which serve as instruments of bourgeois domination. The direct struggle of the working class does not seek permission from these laws and restrictions. On the contrary, it represents a perspective that recognizes no law or ban when it comes to defending class interests. Direct struggle is not a choice; it is a line of struggle created by objective conditions. The working class continues to provide countless examples of this reality.
One of the sectors where the most concrete forms of direct struggle can be seen is construction. In this sector, where there are no rules apart from one or two cosmetic laws, 2.5 million workers are employed according to official data, but in reality, it is more than double. In this sector dominated by lawlessness, existing bourgeois laws are never enough to protect the life safety and economic-social rights of the workers. In construction sites where the independent class organization of the working class and unionization are at rock bottom, to solve all the problems faced—ranging from the usurpation of rights to workplace murders—we face an absolute necessity: to pave the way for actual struggle beyond the laws, which mean nothing more than being an obstacle before the struggle of the working class, a tool of oppression against workers, and the legitimation of exploitation.
In fact, this is not a new path. The working class opened this road the moment it entered the stage of history, and almost all of its achievements have been won through it. Sometimes through factory occupations, sometimes through open uprisings, workers have always created their own path and gained important victories. Today, conciliatory and decayed bourgeois trade unions try to make workers forget this tradition, but we do not allow that. The path remains open.
One of the most important tools for organizing construction workers is the actions carried out at construction sites against violations of workers’ rights. Through these actions, we build real connections between the vanguard of the working class and workers themselves. Every action creates real ties with dozens of workers. It is in the middle of this struggle that we become comrades with construction workers. As a natural result, independent class organizations emerge and grow, beginning with a militant and action-oriented trade union line. In a sector where rights violations are so widespread, there is now hardly a day when construction workers do not take action with determination and confidence. For now, these actions are mostly limited to economic demands, but we are aware that every victory pushes the class and its struggle forward.
Our committees, provincial organizations, and workplace committees continue to grow. The relationships and organizations created through these efforts strengthen the organized power of the working class. This line of struggle, which goes beyond legal limits, receives support from workers. The legal barriers placed before us are becoming increasingly meaningless. Employers who once refused to recognize trade unions or workers’ rights are now aware that they can no longer continue in the same way. Employers who see construction workers and their militant unions as enemies are forced, in the face of workers’ direct actions, to return the rights they have taken away.
Almost all of these direct actions by construction workers end in victory. After an action, employers are forced to sit at the table not only with union representatives but also with workplace representatives chosen directly by the workers involved in the action. As a matter of principle, union representatives never agree to negotiations without worker representatives by their side. Protecting the representation won by workers through direct struggle is one of the main goals of class-conscious unions and worker activists. In many cases, these representatives later become real working-class leaders or union organizers. These actions also serve as a school for the working class. After taking part in several actions, workers gain enough experience to become leaders in other construction sites and organize new struggles. In this way, they become real leaders capable of expanding the movement. This is one of the greatest strengths of direct struggle.
Creating lasting organizations in the construction sector is extremely difficult. Both the temporary nature of construction work and the subcontracting system prevent workers from staying in one workplace for long periods. As a union organizing construction workers, we are finding ways to turn this disadvantage into an advantage. Members who are transferred from one workplace to another carry the union with them wherever they go. Through our members, who are now spread across almost every city, we bring the union into every workers’ area. As a result, the union can launch actions in three different cities at the same time. Through our actions, our constantly growing membership, and our educational activities, we are working to transform this progress into an even greater organized force.
We would also like to emphasize that direct struggle is not limited to taking action and winning our rights. Our union aims to establish itself permanently in workplaces and gain recognition from employers. In some places, we have succeeded in doing this even though we are not among the officially authorized unions recognized under Turkish labor legislation, which creates significant barriers to organizing. For example, at one of Turkey’s largest construction sites, despite the absence of a formal collective agreement, we succeeded in having our workplace representatives recognized. We secured the right to conduct union activities and inspections, and employers accepted the committees we established in the workers’ camp. Educational activities and union meetings were held in the workplace and in the cafeteria. We even won union compensation payments for members who were dismissed from that workplace. This was a first in the sector. These achievements are unfamiliar in Turkey’s construction industry. They are the result of workers rising up through direct struggle. We needed an example, and we created one. Today, we are organizing in the Kanal Istanbul (the canal of Istanbul) project, where hundreds of thousands of workers are expected to be employed. We need this example there. Now is the time to multiply such examples.
However, this is certainly not easy. Our union organizers are constantly harassed and detained by the police. Cases are continuously opened against them. They face the constant risk of imprisonment. At the same time, they are regularly targeted by employers. Union organizers have been physically attacked many times and continue to receive death threats. We are not afraid, and we will continue the struggle to the end.
From protests and press statements to marches, work stoppages, and even workplace occupations, we use a wide range of methods of action. The current stage of our struggle places new tasks before us. These tasks are to create and educate new worker leaders and to advance the class struggle to a higher level. A few years ago, this mass of millions of workers was fragmented and lacked a sense of struggle and solidarity. Today, it is beginning to act like a real class. Class consciousness has awakened. We are making a constant effort to transform this awareness into organized power, and we will succeed.
Today, we proudly say: together, we will succeed.
THE WORLD WILL BELONG TO LABOR.
