News

The new Turkish union for Security workers Guvenlik-Is has now grown to over 10,000 workers, from just 800 exactly a year ago. This represents dramatic growth, inspired by UNI`s `Breaking Through`strategy and the clearly illustrates the urgent need for a union for these workers. Not only have these workers being signed up but the union has also got to the stage where 2,000 of these workers are covered by a new collective bargaining agreement and another 5,000 are close to achieveing the 40% density required under a law for a recognition and collective bargaining agreement.

These agreements set a new industry standard for security workers:

• Pay rises every 6 months for the next 2 years
•  60% for overtime pay, instead of 50%
• Triple time for public holidays, instead of double time, as well social days off
• Allowances for getting married, having a gun at work and money for Eid and other religious festivals
• Parental leave, paid time off for workplace accident, death of family members and twice yearly bonus of 10 working days off
• Marriage leave 5 days, paid time off for deaths in the family, natural events and long service leave after 5 years’ service
• Establishment of a disciplinary committee –that requires union representation and no forced terminations or resignations
• Provision of uniforms and protective equipment

The union predicts they will have 25,000 members by this time next year.

This represents a fantastic success for the union. The General Secretary Bolat Ankarali (pictured talking to Security Workers with Joanna Katsoulas from UNI) said

`We will grow to 25,000 members and I am sure of it. Our activists and officers have worked hard, to recruit, to win over new activists and to help achieve the collective agreements. We have worked also with UNI to train activists and to make sure our organising targets are met, without the help from UNI SCORE and Property Services we would not have had the resources to break through.`