The factories involved include: two Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. plants – an auto, light truck, bus and heavy equipment tyre plant in Adapazari that employs 800 rubber workers, and a truck, bus and agriculture tyre plant in Izmit that employs 500 workers; a Bridgestone Brisa Sabanci plant, jointly owned by Japanese-based Bridgestone and Sabanci Group of Turkey, that manufactures auto, truck and heavy equipment tyres in Izmit and employs 1,500 workers; and a Pirelli auto and truck tyre plant in Izmit that employs 1,200 workers.
The strikes, which began May 31, were organized by the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM) affiliate Lastik-Is. Negotiations continued until the early morning hours of that day prior to the strike, with the employers’ association offering last-minute wage and social payment proposals to avert strikes. Those offers were rejected by an 80% vote.
The union and management association has been negotiating since September 2007 on a new labor agreement. The tyre companies are resisting inflation-rate payments for the three six-month periods. The two sides also differ on various social payments customary in Turkish work schemes. All agenda items within the 59-article labor contract, save for the wage and social payment items, have been agreed upon by the two sides. (Tire Review/Akron)
