Doruk Madencilik mine workers received all their outstanding receivables after resuming their protest on Jun 1, the Independent Miners Union (Bağımsız Maden-İş) announced.

“Our resistance has ended in victory,” the union said in a social media statement in the early hours of today. It said severance pays, unused leave pays, collective bargaining agreement differentials, and forced unpaid leave payments were paid in addition to unpaid wages.

“A mechanism to operate in the subsequent process has been defined between our union, the ministry, and the company against the possibility of detecting deficiencies or errors in calculations,” the statement said. “A definitive agreement has been reached that additional rights that may arise as a result of the inspection carried out by the Labor and Social Security Ministry regarding union rights and the mandatory unpaid leave practice will also be paid by the company without objection.”

“We were not deceived by any words, we only believed in our will and solidarity,” the union added. “We thank our people and friends of miners who walked with us. We resisted together, we won together!”

The Eskişehir-based miners started their action in April, which included a march to the capital Ankara. They ended the two-week protest on Apr 29 after three ministries stepped in to guarantee that their severance pay and wage arrears would be paid.

However, the miners traveled to Ankara once again on Jun 1, accusing the company of failing to keep its promise despite the guarantees provided by the ministries.

The company claimed in response that “all receivables stemming from wages” had been paid, adding that other receivables would also be settled.

The union called the company statement manipulative and maintained that all receivables had not been paid. The process was completed after four days when the remaining payments were made. (VK)