"War reflects on laborers as explotation, poverty and usurpation of their rights"

Hilal TOK
Eren ERGİNE

From past to present, millions of laborers have been demanded to make sacrifices in the wars Turkey was directly or indirectly involved, took sides. Member of DİSK board of Directors and Gıda-İş chairperson, Seyit Aslan, indicating that workers got more impoverished during war periods, their basic rights, such as right to strike and collective agreements were usurped as billions of dollars were transferred to war efforts and monopolies under the pretext of “defence and security,” suggests that workers should ask first “why am I left poor,” and trade-unions should also directly oppose to the politics and positions favourable for war which undermine the unity of working class and render it weak against capital.

A COVER OVER POVERTY AND OPPRESSION

The “wars” Turkey directly sided with have been in the country’s agenda for a long time. Can war be characterised as a notion unrelated to workers? How does war impact the lives of workers economically?

War directly concerns working class. Without going back in time much, it is beneficial to remind the recent history. As Turkey took side in the wars during the disintegration process of Yugoslavia and the occupation of Iraq, the process of Syria was a war Turkey was directly in the field, became involved in clashes, and the consequences of this are still ongoing. The unemployment, poverty, price hikes, anti-democratic practices in the country are concealed with war cover. Masses of people, working class at the head, are convinced by phrases such as “Homeland, nation, Sakarya,” to comply with war politics. Official opposition always aligns itself with the government. At one time, the President had asked “I am addressing the potato producers, tomato sellers, are you aware of how much that one bullet costs?” That is exactly the source of the problem. Do you know how much one bullet is? One fighter plane, one artillery, a tank, a rocket, a warship, how much are these? Billions of dollars are spent on armament while workers live in poverty. Basic rights such as rights to food, health, education, shelter are being pushed in the background, but war and war industry expenditures are at the forefront. All this money spent are going into the vault of the weapon monopolies, the USA at the head.

“MONEY FOR EACH BULLET COMES OUT OF OUR POCKET”

20% of the budget in Turkey is set aside for military expenditures. The governments advocate that these funds are to establish piece, for security. Complete lies. War divides working class, impoverishes it, causes it to pay more taxes, limits its struggle for its rights. Pandemic, crisis, and now the occupation of Ukraine by Russia, we have seen that whatever happens happens to working class. Budget deficit is attempted to be closed with price hikes and new taxes. Following the Russian occupation of Ukraine, the armament in the world has increased, supplementary budgets have been formed for this. Money for every bullet fired, fuel of fighter plane in sky, warship at sea come out of our pocket, workers’ pocket.

Turkey is in NATO and NATO is a war organization. Lately, people’s opposition against price hikes was squashed by armed forces in Kazakhstan. CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization), Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan being its members, directly moved against people in Kyrgyzstan with arms and squashed the people’s demands by force. This, at the same time, means a local small NATO.

“YELLOW UNIONS TAKE THE FORM OF THE INSTRUMENT FOR WAR POLITICS”

Do war and war politics have a direct relation with the right and freedom to union?

During the gulf war, the first move was to ban the strikes. Ongoing collective agreement negotiations were brought to end without satisfying workers’ demands under the pretext that there was war in the region. Collective bargaining rights were taken away from workers and union bureaucracy served to that end. Masses living in poverty were convinced by the propaganda conducted as if it were imminent for the country to be invaded. Inability to go on strike, Collective Agreements signed “for the salvation of the country” right at the start of negotiations... Both union rights and freedoms are narrowed down, and workers are oppressed by collaborationist imposition, workers and unions are easily managed. Meaning that two birds are hit with one stone. Having been the supporters and collaborators of the government for last twenty years, the unions came out to advocate for war by asserting the indivisible integrity of the country and its supreme interest. If one directly takes the side of war politics, that is the main danger. While they do that, they praise themselves by asserting that they do it “for the survival of the country.” This is not the perception looking after the interests of working class, it is the perception that looks after the interest of the government and capital. Workers, on one hand, must fight against such perception and against war politics.

“GENERAL STRIKES AND RESISTANCE AGAINST WAR MUST BE ORGANIZED”

So, why is it important that workers should stand against war? What should the trade unions do to achieve it?

If workers have not established their own government, they face more or less the same problems no matter which part of the world they are. There are oppression and exploitation, their union rights and freedoms are entrenched... War periods are those in which there are oppression and anti-democratic enforcements, in which many rights, including right for strikes, are suspended and obliterated. Working class is divided, limited to and forced to comply with bourgeois politics, faces the reality that it is taken far away from its class interests. Why does Turkey invest that much in war industry? Workers must discuss these questions and must work out right answers. The partner of Nation Alliance is asserting “Let price hikes happen, cost of living be expensive, let us go hungry, shelterless, but have our homeland.” It is not homeland if there is hunger and no shelter in it! While capital piles up its profits over profits, the politics causing working class to go more and more into poverty must be questioned. While military expenditures, spending for armament are carried out without any limits; without questioning “Why am I hungry, why can’t I pay my rent, why my hydro and natural gas service are cut because of my debt,” this situation will not change. Not only questioning, in order to change the situation, it is imperative that the struggle be organized.

The trade unions must stand directly against the politics and war positions that would compromise the unity of working class and weaken it against capital. They must first clearly and transparently present that working class has no interest in wars. They must organize international solidarity with the working class in other countries. They must not get involved in and take part in any attempts serving for war politics. During the occupation process of Ukraine, the dock workers in Italy did not load any arms at the ports, this is an exemplary position that working class directly must take. Workers must be persuaded to do so. For example, workers, especially working in weapon industry, must not produce weapons for imperialist clashes, they must organize general strikes and resistance. They must improve on those attempts to perform them at international level.