"Article 34 of the Labour Law is clear: Workers who have not been paid for 20 days can work slower or stop working. It is their right. If an employer then dismisses those workers, this article is violated.”

300 builders working on a new football stadium for Galatasaray, one of the three biggest football teams in Turkey, have been going without pay for three months, and have now been dismissed for laying down their tools.

According to lawyer Çiğdem Ulukol, president of the Social Rights Association, the workers can g oto court within a month in order to reclaim their jobs.

She has also criticised the football club for blaming the building contractor, saying that the club is part of the injustice.

Work on the stadium started one and a half years ago.

Protesting for three months

Protests started three months ago, and the workers, who had been working slower, stopped working on 3 March. A few days ago, they set fire to wood at the edge of a highway in protest. Workers also put the Galatasaray flag on half-mast, threatening to fly the flag of rival team Fenerbahçe if they were not paid.

The workers have been complaining to the subcontractors and the main contractor, Eren Talu Architecture and Trade Company.

Eren Talu has said that he owes workers 3 million TL (around 1.3 million Euros), and that he would pay it all on Tuesday, 17th March.

“I will even pay them 150,000 TL for the days they have not worked since 3 March. But after paying them, I will dismiss them all. The team will change completely.”

Dismissal illegal

Lawyer Ulukol says that the workers’ rights are being violated, saying that employers cannot cancel the workers’ contracts. Workers can, if they want, receive compensation and leave, but the employer has no right to dismiss workers on a go-slow or who stop working.

Fans should support workers by boycotting matches

Ulukol is a Galatasaray fan herself, but she has accused the club of being part of the problem:

“The Galatasaray club is going to play in that stadium, and the spectators, most of them workers, will come and watch the matches. That is why the club cannot just blame the construction company. It is unacceptable that you want to play your matches there, but at the same time disregard workers’ rights.”

The lawyer called on Galatasaray fans to take a stand:

“I love football very much and go to watch matches. Football spectators are not very rich. Making sacrifices to buy the tickets means being part of the exploitation of workers. Galatasaray fans should not be part of this injustice.” (BÇ/AG)