Platform of the Workers in Resistance established in İstanbul

News of the establishment of a solidarity commitee in İstanbul by the workers of the various strikes that are already going on

Submitted by mikail firtinaci on May 2, 2010

A strike commitee has been established in order to form a bond of solidarity among various strikes and resistances in İstanbul last month. The resistance is specifically emphasised because majority of these struggles are not strikes in classical sense of the term but struggles that are waged against the sacking of workers or the attacks of the capital (whether in the form of privatization, closures or insecurity measures). Previously most of these struggles were ending with the isolation of the workers which were led by some sort of illegal leftist or union confederation or both into devastating "struggles"; Tents were getting established in front of the work places till the police attacks without no real gain in vain.

With the increase in the speed of capital's and state's attacks, and increase in the momentum of the workers' struggle this news of the formation of a struggle commitee among various workers' groups in resistance may be both an expression of the advance of the struggle and a possible sign of a new form of class struggle in the existing conditions.

However the reader should be cautious since I do not have enough information to prove that this commitee is in fact a real expression of class solidarity. There is also a probability that this may as well be a leftist organisation's maneouvre to channel the workers' combatitivity to its own aims. Whatever the case I believe that there is an increasing combatitivity in the turkish working class (as in greece, china, spain, etc) which goes against the tide of social degeneration, ethnic tensions and general decomposition of social relations.

Here is the declaration of the Platform (commitee);

We are all in resistance because we want to say no living under slavery conditions, because we cannot get our wages, because we are sacked from our jobs, to say no to subcontracted works and to struggle against insecurity. We gathered together on the basis of the necessity of struggling together and in order to create the concrete expression of the slogan “we will win if we unite” and to set an example to all our class brothers/sisters by setting the most advanced example of class solidarity. We have been united under the workers in resistance platform in order drive back the attacks against the working class, to form solidarity among our resistances, to march for the 1st of May for which we have spilled our blood and for we believe that it must be the workers who has to set the agenda of the workers and the 1st of May and not the traitor union bureaucracy. We will join the Constitution meeting of 4.10.2010 Saturday Kadıköy with our banners and cortege in which our resistance will come together. We will also declare the establishment of our platform to the press and the public in a meeting that we will make next week.
We will win in unity!
Long live the class solidarity!
Death to the wage slavery system!
Platform of the Workers in Resistance

Comments

Devrim

13 years 11 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Devrim on May 9, 2010

However the reader should be cautious since I do not have enough information to prove that this commitee is in fact a real expression of class solidarity. There is also a probability that this may as well be a leftist organisation's maneouvre to channel the workers' combatitivity to its own aims.

This is not the impression that we get from this group. I don't think that it a initiative of any of the leftist organisations. In fact only this week one of them was complaining to us that the left was all against them.

We recently published an article in our paper from somebody connected to it:
http://tr.internationalism.org/duenya-devrimi-2010s/duenya-devrimi-7/sendikalar-niye-var

Also we reproduced their recent statement about the film festival on-line:
http://tr.internationalism.org/ekaonline-2000s/ekaonline-2010/isci-filmleri-festivali-mi

Devrim

mikail firtinaci

13 years 11 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by mikail firtinaci on May 9, 2010

Actually devrim there are probably some leftists in this group. But as a group they are non-aligned. I hope to meet with them soon by the way.

pikatron

10 years 9 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by pikatron on July 9, 2013

here is an interview made with the editor of sendika.org in istanbul about the role of workers' struggle in the lead up the gezi park movement. he didn't mention this platform though...http://en.labournet.tv/video/6570/role-workers-struggles-gezi-park-movement

Chilli Sauce

10 years 9 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Chilli Sauce on July 9, 2013

We, Devrim? You back in the ICC?

Thanks for posting this Mik.

klas batalo

10 years 9 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by klas batalo on July 10, 2013

actually a counter point is this a guest post or an official post from devrim for ICT?

http://www.leftcom.org/en/articles/2013-07-09/street-protests-and-class-power-reflections-on-current-events-in-turkey-egypt

Devrim

10 years 9 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Devrim on July 10, 2013

As pointed out above the bit where I refer to the ICC as we is from a few years ago actually during the TEKEL struggleklas batalo

actually a counter point is this a guest post or an official post from devrim for ICT?

http://www.leftcom.org/en/articles/2013-07-09/street-protests-and-class-power-reflections-on-current-events-in-turkey-egypt

I wrote this for the ICT because they asked me if I would write something. I wrote a short background piece for KpK on the events, which they ran in Czech. The ICT asked if they could run it, and did so, as did a few other people who didn't ask me, not that it really concerns me. I also wrote a very short update on ghe day of the second general strike, which was printed on the KpK and ICT sites:
http://www.leftcom.org/en/articles/2013-06-05/from-saving-a-park-to-500-000-workers-on-strike-background-to-the-events-in

http://www.leftcom.org/en/articles/2013-06-18/update-on-turkey

Then the CWO asked if I would write a piece for their magazine Revolutionary Perspectives, which is the piece linked to above.

I am not a member.

Devrim

klas batalo

10 years 9 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by klas batalo on July 10, 2013

thanks for letting us know what is up and also pointing out the other articles. i really enjoyed the above one by the way. :D

Devrim

10 years 9 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Devrim on July 12, 2013

klas batalo

i really enjoyed the above one by the way. :D

Oh, thanks, what did you like about it?

Devrim