Koop-Sen’s Indefinite Strike Enters Sixth Day: Protest Continues Outside Ministry

The strike, launched at Koop-Süt, the Agricultural Supplies Cooperative and Binboğa Feed Cooperative, continued with demonstrations today outside the ministry responsible for the cooperatives.

During the protest, participants threw eggs at the ministry building and poured halloumi whey in the garden, chanting slogans such as “Unity, Struggle, Solidarity” and “We Will Win Through Resistance.” Several trade union officials joined in solidarity, while CTP MPs visited the workers at the protest site.

Mehmetali Güröz: “We Will Not Step Back From Our Rights”

Koop-Sen President Mehmetali Güröz said the strike had reached its sixth day but claimed that no officials were willing to engage with them. He accused the authorities of ignoring the workers’ struggle and shifting responsibility from one to another.

“They want us to give up our rights in the collective agreement. They want us to sacrifice our colleagues,” Güröz declared, vowing that the union would continue its determined struggle.

He further alleged that employees were being subjected to retaliation and presented a file to journalists. “This file contains the inspection reports of Binboğa Feed Factory that were submitted to the police. Because of these reports, the factory is facing today’s problems,” Güröz said.

He also referred to inspection reports of the dairy factory from 2024, noting that interim managers appointed by the Cooperative Central Bank had drawn up and signed plans for the factory’s recovery. However, he claimed that the Cooperative Companies Registrar failed to act on these reports, accusing the authorities of sweeping them under the rug.

“They want us to collapse and fail,” Güröz argued, stressing that while calling a strike was easy, lifting it was far more difficult. “A strike can only end if it succeeds. As long as there is no success, there will be no end to this strike,” he said.

Declaring “There is death, but no turning back,” Güröz underlined that the workers would neither surrender their rights nor abandon their colleagues. He emphasized that their struggle was for the survival of the cooperatives and to serve society.

“We do not play politics, we do not engage in partisanship. Our only party is the cooperative, and we are cooperative members. For this cause, if necessary, we are ready to die,” he stated.

Güröz announced that the strike would continue tomorrow at the same ministry and on Thursday at the Cooperative Central Bank.