Murat Uysal
Meltem Akyol
Istanbul
An employee at Armina Migros in Istanbul Bahçeşehir stated that one of the employees had tested positive for coronavirus, and despite this, other employees were called to the store to work and the store was reopened for customers and no disinfection had taken place. In Migros, the organized Tez Coop-Labor Union defended Migros, while Migros officials said this had not happened.
Nergis, who worked as a cashier at Armina Migros in Bahçeşehir, Istanbul, described that one of her colleagues has tested positive for coronavirus. However, despite having a covid-19 positive employee at work, Nergis strictly stated that this information should not be revealed and be kept in full confidentiality. “Employees were called back to work without being tested for Covid-19” she said. Because she had been in close contact with her friend who had tested positive for Covid-19, Nergis also had to self-isolate. She said: "Due to the physical conditions of the workplace, we have to work in close contact. We were eating in a tight space. We did not have a rest area. We often met the same surfaces and used the same toilet. Everyone was in touch, whether they liked it or not. I had to get tested on my own. My other friends continue to run without being tested."
The regional manager asked questions like “Why are you in close contact? You're violating the rules." He wanted to make it seem as if the employees were faulty for having a high risk of catching Covid-19. The company was most certainly trying to get the responsibility off their own shoulders. Without even bothering to isolate the vaults and running away from any possible expenses, the company still had the audacity to blame the workers for only working with masks and face shields. “The actual ones to blame are the ones that try to come to work by changing two vehicles” he said.
IT’S NOT ONLY MIGROS
“There are other markets that are portraying the same option” Nergis claimed. She then continued: “All the workers that have been called in to work during this pandemic are working under the same conditions. For example, I travel to Bahcesehir using a shared-taxi every morning. As the shared taxis get extremely stuffy and packed, I then exchange vehicles and get on the ‘store service’. The distance between each cashier at the store is less than a meter long. As the cashiers are parallel to each other and closely in contact, the customers also have no choice but to make physical contact whether they like it or not. Stores are experiencing an issue with the shortage of employees due to the pandemic. The workers are sent to get a valid report once they have tested positive for corona, and therefore other workers also must get reports in order to protect themselves. Most of the time we work in a system where only one till is open due to the shortage of workers. Usually, there must be a worker that warns those entering the store about the masks and social distancing, but as there are no extra staff where I work, we have to deal with those types of things as well as being at the till. Some customers’ response to our warnings are quite aggressive. All this responsibility is held upon the staff. You're going to provide your own hygiene, you're going to ensure the hygiene of the environment you're in is 10/10, and you're going to warn the customers about their own hyigene, you're not going to disrupt your real job and whilst you're doing all of this, you're going to provide customer satisfaction to the fullest."
Nergis said that they have made a WhatsApp group chat as market workers throughout Turkey; "Thanks to the network we have established, we are instantly aware of the problems of our friends and are looking for solutions."
"Workers who have been subjected to heavy workload since curfews, whose workload has doubled, who have had to work between unemployment and the virus, are psychologically exhausted," said Nergis. Migros, has also urged the Turkish-Business-affiliated Tez-Coop-Labor Union to stand by the workers.
KOOP-LABOUR: MIGROS IS NOT SUCH A COMPANY
[Organized in the workplace, one of the trade unions under the direction of the trade union bureaucracy in Turkey] Tez-Coop-Labour said in a statement that "Migros is not like other companies". Head of Istanbul Branch No.4, Hasan Dere "We are in constant contact with our regional managers. When there is a problem like this, we will be the first to know. The workers’ claims do not reflect on reality. Migros is not like other companies. After all, its our health on the line. Families come to shop at Migros. I am sure that in the worst-case scenarios, Migros will shut down the entire store. I am sure it is not a company that needs those 4 extra hours of work. We are trying to intervene when it is necessary during this period as we reach the peak of this virus, but these claims are not true," he added.
“Our company has been working accordingly with the occupational health rules by the Ministry of Health since the very beginning of the pandemic” they said in a statement by Migros to the Evrensel newspaper. “If there does become a possible positive case in our work, all personnel in the branch will be quarantined and further alterations will be made if necessary .We do not accept these allegations and would like to point out that such a situation is not the case” they said.
Yusuf Karadaş