Turkish labor protest continues over wage dispute

Thousands of workers from the factories of car giants Tofa? and Oyak Renault in western Turkey continued their strike on May 19, in a rare wage dispute to hit the country's flourishing car sector.

Several auto parts companies joined the Tofa? and Oyak Renault workers in protest against their employers. 
Hundreds of workers from a leading equipment manufacturer in the city, Co?kunöz, have also been on strike, as well as workers from another auto parts maker, Mako. 

"The spreading strike in the automotive industry has put serious stress on almost all sector players.

Unfortunately, we now see that several automotive parts producers have joined the strike wave, although our sector has been one of the best in Turkey in terms of improving its workers' working conditions for the last 40 years. We hope reconciliation between employers and employees in the sector will be achieved very soon," said Turkish Automotive Parts Industry Association (TAYSAD) head Mehmet Dudaro?lu in a written statement late on May 18. 

According to the list of the top 1,000 exporters of 2014 announced by the Turkish Exporters' Assembly (T?M) on May 18, Oyak Renault is in third place while Tofa? is seventh. Together, the two automakers account for more than 40 percent of Turkey's annual car output, according to industry data. Around 80 percent of their production is for export markets. 

Turkish carmaker Tofa?, owned by Italy's Fiat and local conglomerate Koç Holding, announced on May 18 that it has halted production at its plant in the northwestern city of Bursa. The company added that it did not expect the stoppage to affect sales. 

Tofa? CEO Cengiz Eroldu said he had met the striking workers on May 18 and asked them to return to work, adding...