Strike decision in Turkish metal industry

The Turkish Metal Union has decided to go on a strike involving 115,000 workers in the metal industry including automotive, white goods, iron and steel and electronics, as of Monday, May 6, as talks on a collective labor agreement with the Turkish Employers' Association of Metal Industries (MESS) remain unresolved. However the official annoucement has not been made yet since the mediator's report has not been completed.
 
The negotiations only started on January 9, although the original scheduled date for implementation of a collective labor agreement with the MESS was September 1, 2012. The labor agreement will affect 115,000 workers, 98,000 of which are Turkish Metal Union members.
 
The companies where the strike decision will be implemented include Tofaş, Arçelik, Otokar, Karsan, Mercedes Benz, MAN, Ford Otosan, BSH Ev Aletleri, Hema Endüstri, Compenanta, Türk Traktör, Delphi, Çolakoğlu, Borusan Mannesman and İçdaş.
 
Meanwhile, regarding the collective labor agreement negotiations at Turkish long steel producer Kardemir, Cengiz Gül, head of the Çelik-İş Union, said last week that if the negotiations did not progress the union would have to decide to go on strike in the current week.