What is the Workers’ Representatives Council?
The Workers’ Representatives Council is composed of worker
representatives from unions and professional organizations across the
aforementioned sectors, solidarity networks operating under the
“Patronların Ensesindeyiz” (Breath Down the Bosses’ Necks) initiative,
ongoing worker resistance movements throughout Turkey, as well as TKP
workplace units and committees.
These representatives come from
some of the most determined segments of the working class and aim to
expand and deepen class organization in the areas they represent, while
providing direction, unity, and political purpose to a working-class
movement that currently appears fragmented and dispersed.
Political message of the meeting
A motion titled “The Demands of the Turkish Working Class,” which
defines the political principles to be embraced by the working class,
was discussed and unanimously adopted at the founding meeting. These
principles include equality, nationalization, freedom to organize,
working class patriotism, the right to engage in politics, the right to
humane working conditions, the right to retirement and to a dignified
life for retirees, and a firm commitment to break with the capitalist
system and the rule of capital.
The Council also adopted two
position statements expressing solidarity with the people of Iran in the
face of attacks by the United States and Israel, and with Cuba against
the U.S. blockade.
International solidarity
Nikos Tzortzis, Head of International Relations of the Secretariat of
the All Workers Militant Front (PAME) in Greece, attended the meeting,
welcomed the establishment of the Council, and expressed his solidarity
and best wishes.
In his speech, Tzortzis highlighted the
resistance led by PAME in Greece against the New Democracy government’s
policies that extend working hours, weaken collective agreements, and
suppress wages. He emphasized that the actions of dockworkers and
seafarers have emerged as symbols of resistance against exploitation and
deteriorating working conditions. He also conveyed the strong
opposition and actions of Greek workers to Greece’s involvement in
imperialist wars. Concluding his remarks with verses from Nazım Hikmet,
Tzortzis ended with the words: “Long live the working class of Turkey,
long live the working class of Greece.”
Decisions of the meeting
The final declaration states that ending exploitation, war, and
destruction requires the working class to emerge as an organized
political force with a demand for systemic change. It emphasizes that
without resolving the contradiction between labor and capital, equality,
freedom, secularism, independence, peace, and democracy cannot be
achieved.
Through the decisions adopted at its founding
meeting, the Workers’ Representatives Council has concretely defined its
organizational and strategic objectives.
The Council aims to expand working-class organization by developing
tools to strengthen the structures of the represented groups and by
advancing targeted struggles—particularly in manufacturing, textiles,
and the public sector—to gain new ground.
To reinforce
working-class identity and culture, political, social, and cultural
activities will be organized; TKP workers’ houses and district houses
will be utilized; and a range of publications will be launched.
To defend the rights and demands of public-sector workers, the Council
will work to increase the number of union leaders and workplace
representatives within its ranks, with the goal of ensuring that the
unions in these workplaces become officially authorized.
Building on the experience of the “Patronların Ensesindeyiz” (PE)
network, the Council plans to strengthen and expand workplace committees
and solidarity networks, while enhancing PE’s communication tools to
facilitate cross-sectoral solidarity and coordinated struggle.
It aims to establish Retiree Solidarity Networks across Turkey to bring
together retired workers and those who have reached retirement age but
are unable to retire.
Finally, the Council will take an active
role in ongoing worker resistance movements, working to break their
isolation in the face of strike bans and anti-union measures, and to
increase their visibility and impact within the broader working class.
