On the eve of the Euro 2008 kick-off, the Union of European Football Association (UEFA) President Michel Platini has been asked to intervene personally to secure the re-instatement of more than 50 Turkish workers who spent the early part of last year making Euro 2008 merchandise before being fired for joining a union and seeking improvements in wages and working conditions.
The Mink Tekstil factory in Konya, Turkey was making Euro 2008 logo produce when more than 90 per cent of the workforce, angered by abusive working practices, joined the textile trade union, Teksif and won the legal right to bargain a contract. The company not only refused to recognize the union but began a campaign to destroy it through the harassment and intimidation of its leaders and members. Threats included pay cuts, the ending of ‘under the table’ payments, transfers to other locations and dismissals without severance payments. In the end, 52 workers were illegally fired.
Following a lengthy legal process, the Turkish Labour Courts found that all 52 workers had been illegally dismissed; ordered the reinstatement of 49 others, while the remaining 3 were being ordered compensation only as they had less than six months’ seniority. Later the High Court of Appeal upheld the reinstatement orders of the Labour Court, but in spite of pressure, Mink Tekstil continues to refuse to take back any of the workers. The global union federation, the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation, is pushing for immediate action by UEFA as Mink Tekstil is one of the suppliers of Euro 2008 logo goods to Warner Bros. Consumer Products, a Euro 2008 licensee.
The International Textile, Garment & Leather Workers’ Federation (ITGLWF) General Secretary Neil Kearney says both Mink Tekstil and Warner Bros. Consumer Products have failed to respond to the decisions of the Turkish Courts and to repeated requests from the Turkish and global unions. He singled out the Euro 2008 licensee, Warner Bros. Consumer Products, for particular criticism for not insisting that its supplier comply with Turkish labour legislation and ignoring all approaches on the illegal fringes and other workers’ rights abuses.
