Reinstate the Cargill 14 now!

Fourteen union activists were unfairly dismissed from their jobs on April 17, 2018 while organizing a union at Cargill-Turkey in Bursa-Orhangazi. These 14 dismissals follow those of seven other workers who won court cases in 2015 when the Turkish lower court concluded that these 7 workers, also trying to organize a union in Bursa-Orhangazi, were dismissed for union activity. While these 7 workers won their court cases in 2015, Cargill chose to simply pay a monetary penalty instead of reinstatement as this approach is typically used by companies to prevent unionization.

All these dismissals at Cargill are in violation of core ILO Conventions 87 and 98, which protect workers’ rights to freedom of association, to organize and to engage in collective bargaining. These dismissals are also in direct violation of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, which are clear on the responsibility of enterprises to respect the right of their employees to be represented by a trade union and reference ILO Conventions 87 and 98.

IUF affiliates from around the world have contacted Cargill expressing their support for the 14 workers in Turkey who were dismissed while exercising their right to freedom of association. The IUF and its affiliated unions will continue to take action until a positive resolution is achieved at Cargill-Turkey.