Telus – reinstate workers in Turkey, stop union busting

UNI Global Union is calling on Canadian multinational, Telus Digital, to put an end to the vicious union busting at its operations in Turkey and urgently reinstate 15 fired union members.

Telus, a business process outsourcing (BPO) company, employs around 1,500 people in Turkey, who chiefly work as online content moderators. In July last year, Cagri-Is Union, received authorization from the Turkish labour ministry to collectively bargain on behalf workers at Telus after 60 per cent of employees joined the union.   

However, the company retaliated by objecting to the authorization through the labour court, blocking the collective bargaining procedure and launching a brutal anti-union campaign to quash workers’ attempts to organize.  

According to Çağrı-İş Union, Telus’s anti-worker and anti-union stance is growing worse every day. On 7 January, Telus unfairly dismissed leading union member, Hasan Hüseyin Yavuz, prompting workers to stage an ongoing protest at the company’s location in Izmir.

Meanwhile, the union says pressure on workers still inside the company is intensifying, particularly for those involved in union efforts. Mobbing has increased; breaks are being denied, and performance pressure is being used to wear workers down.

A Çağrı-İş Union spokesperson said:

“Telus is trying every possible way to get rid of our union and suppress the workers’ struggle. We are determined to expose Telus’s anti-worker practices and continue our fight against this injustice until our union is recognized and workers are reinstated.”

Solidarity with the workers in Turkey has extended far and wide, with UNI’s North American affiliate, the United Steelworkers – representing Telus telecom workers in Canada – voicing strong support for their colleagues in Turkey amid the company’s attacks.

Benjamin Parton, Head of ICTS at UNI Global Union, said:

“At UNI Global Union, we fight on behalf of contact centre workers around the world. We urge Telus to act responsibly and uphold international labour standards that guarantee workers the right to unionize and engage in collective bargaining – free from intimidation or retaliation. We call on Telus to reinstate union members in Turkey, recognize Çağrı-İş Union and start negotiating with workers.”