News

Guvenlik-Is the union in Turkey for Security workers has signed an amazing 13 collective agreements with security companies in Turkey. The union which has been working in partnership with UNI Property Services and UNI SCORE has just completed a week of actions in Antalya airport to in crease membership and win recognition. But outside of this campaign the union is completing agreements covering over 2,340 workers in these companies as they start their campaign to unionise this massive sector.

Through UNI funding Guvenlik-Is has employed 4 Organisers and is waging its campaign in Antalya, Istanbul, Ankarra and Izmir. The Organisers are focused on finding workplace leaders and building up membership through classic organising techniques. Identifying workers issues, building networks and signing workers up are the most important elements of the campaign. Every level of the union is engaged in teh activity with the union President Bolat Ankarali often leading the organisers and activists into the workplaces to seek out workers.

At Antalya they have unearthed some unacceptable practice such as Securitas forcing workers to wear different coloured lanyards as forms of punishment so that so called `bad`workers are marked out. They have also found workers being forced to carry out unpaid overtime when transportation is not provided for workers to get home.

The union is also working in cooperation with the union confederation Turk-Is, attending meetings of security workers organised by other unions who are cooperating in building this new union.

Guvenlik-Is will be presenting its successful campaign to a meeting of all UNI affiliates in Istanbul on the 1st and 2nd September.