Group Collective bargaining negotiations between our Union and the MESS (metal employers’ union) for the period of 2006-2008 have been concluded by dispute on 13th October 2006. The most important reason of the dispute is that the proposals of MESS which target to eliminate many of gained rights of metal workers in addition to persistently demands for full flexibility. Beside lots of unacceptable demands, the MESS also demands to remove all bonuses by adding them to the wages and to reduce the pays for overtime working from 100% to 75%.

Regarding increases in wages and social payments, proposals of MESS is limited with inflation rates. Accordingly, MESS proposes to increase wages 4,29% for the period of March-September 2006 which is equal to the declared official inflation rate for this period of time and 10,26% annual increase for social payments which is equal to the annual official inflation rate. However our Union has proved that the current methods used by the State Statistics Department (TUIK) to calculate inflation rates camouflage the erosion in wages. We also expressed to MESS negotiators clearly that our members demand a fair share form the realised growth in metal sector. Following the dispute reached on 13th October, executive committee of Birlesik Metal Union held Presidential Committee on 14th October and discussed what kind of political way should be followed in the process of dispute with the participation of all presidents from the branches. In the afternoon of that meeting a more enlarged meeting was held together with workplace trade union representatives. The targets agreed for common struggle of metal workers are as follows:

• Against the demands of MESS on flexibility, weekly working time must be settled as 45 hours and these hours must be distributed to the working days of week equally.

• Internship period should not be prolonged.

• Traditional provisions on payments such as bonuses, overtime payments, shift pays, compensation payments made for seniority and/or notification of workers can not be changed.

• Before a general wage increase which covers all workers, an increase on the wages of workers whose pays are lower than average must definitely be made.

• In the distribution of wage increases a way should be followed which allows higher increases for those with lower wages.

We call all metal workers in Turkey to claim our demands written above and to resist against the attacks of MESS.

Executive Committee of Birlesik Metal-Is Union