http://www.atilim.org18 juni 2006 – 16:29

ISTANBUL- On the 11th of June, Cem Dinc, the president of the shipyard workers union DISK/Limter Is (right in the picture) and the organizing specialist of this union, Kamber Saygili (on the left) was arrested and imprisoned by the Turkish state.

They were leading a worker resistance in the shipyards of Tuzla/Istanbul, in a company called DESAN.
The company did not pay the wages of its' totally 55 workers, and the workers are demanding their pay. The Tuzla shipyard is a place of intensive and flexible work, where every day the bosses gain millions of dolars, but they don't even pay the wages of the workers. Also nearly every day work "accidents" occur because the bosses don't make even the basic expenses for job security.
The workers initiated a resistance two weeks ago. The boss and the local state authorities firmly repressed the workers, although the workers continued resistance. They cut the roads, they organized marches in the shipyard and finally, on the 7th of June, they occupied the ship which they had constructed. In each of these actions, the police attacked the workers with tear gas and rods, heavily beaten and arrested them. Also Cem Dinc and Kamber Saygili were taken under custody for four times.

The only demand of the workers was their wages to be paid. This is a total amount of 80.000 YTL (i.e. 53.000 dolars) and the boss rejects to pay this right of the workers.

On the 11th of June, the shipyard boss prevented the workers to stand in front of their work place and the police brutally attacked the workers and the union leaders. Cem Dinc and Kamber Saygili were beaten very heavily, in fact they were tortured in front of the eyes of other workers for intimidating them. The photo was taken just after they were beaten heavily by the police, and Cem Dinc has wounds in his head.

And the local prosecutor imprisoned these two managers of Limter Is with the claim that they "resisted the police".
Now Dinc and Saygili are being held in Kartal H-type Prison.

This notice is also a call for urgent solidarity with the imprisoned unionists.

Brother movements from different countries can organize protests in front of the Turkish embassies.
You can widely circulate this message.
You can send your protest messages to:
Minister of Labor and Social Security Murat Basesgioglu
e-mail: mb@basesgioglu.org
Tel. no. of the Ministry: 0090 312 296 60 00
Minister of Internal Affairs Abdulkadir Aksu
e-mail: aaksu@icisleri.gov.tr
Prime Minister of Turkey, Tayyip Erdogan
e-mail: bimer@basbakanlik.gov.tr

You can send solidarity cards for the unionists:
Cem DINC
H Tipi CEZAEVI, KARTAL/ISTANBUL

or solidarity e-mails to: varyos@ttnet.net.tr

Also see:
http://www.atilim.org/atilim/modules.php?name=Guncel&file=article&sid=10...