Strikes of Turkish delivery workers expand with protests by Yurtiçi Kargo and Yemeksepeti couriers

Duvar English 

Workers of Turkish cargo company Yurtiçi Kargo and Banabi, the grocery branch of online food delivery platform Yemeksepeti, went on strike on Feb. 1 in the face of inadequate wage rises and poor working conditions. 

These protests followed that of Trendyol Express workers who secured a 38.8 percent rise in their wages as a result of a three-day strike last week. 

The success of the Trendyol strike has inspired delivery workers throughout Turkey, with similarly Sürat Kargo, Aras Kargo and HepsiJET couriers demanding an increase in their pay.

Delivery and warehouse workers working in Yemeksepeti Banabi stopped deliveries on Feb. 1, demanding an increase in their wages and a guarantee of their unionization rights. 

They gathered in front of Yemeksepeti company's headquarters in Istanbul's Levent neighborhood. 

The workers said that the company had been preventing their unionization efforts with "oppression and threats." 

Images of Yemeksepeti Banabi workers from all over Turkey protesting and forming convoys were shared on Twitter.

Delivery workers of Yurtiçi Kargo also staged a demonstration in front of the company headquarters in Istanbul, against a 17 percent wage rise despite the official inflation rate being 36 percent, as well as the dismissal of 20 of their colleagues.

In a statement they published on Twitter, they demanded a 40 percent wage rise and that the company reinstate the dismissed workers. 

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