North’s Pepsi strike now ‘indefinite’ after reps refused to meet unions

Workers at Ektam, the north’s producer of Pepsi and other soft drinks, on Friday announced that their strike is now “indefinite” after representatives of both Ektam and PepsiCo’s Turkish subsidiary refused to meet trade union members to resolve the ongoing dispute.

“Our strikes … have turned into an indefinite strike as of today. All our attempts at negotiation have been rejected due to the employer’s avoidance of dialogue. We stand firm in our commitment to protecting the rights of workers,” the workers’ trade union Emek-Is said.

It added that “being a member of a union is a constitutional right”.

The striking workers have won the support of the World federation of trade unions, which stated on Friday that “the international class-oriented trade union expresses its full and unconditional solidarity” with the workers and “their just demands”.

The Cyprus Mail had been informed on Thursday that representatives of PepsiCo and Ektam had refused to enter a meeting with the Turkish Cypriot authorities and trade union representatives.

A representative of trade union Dev-Is, of which Emek-Is is an affiliate, said that the representatives of the two companies wished to meet “directly” with the striking workers with no trade union presence.

Workers downed tools on Friday last week, claiming that the company had attempted to deprive them of their right to unionise, with the company then hitting back and threatening to fire 39 workers in response.

The workers had attempted to join a union affiliated with Dev-Is, and a spokesperson for that union had earlier told the Cyprus Mail that the company had been “ignoring the laws” relating to organised labour in the north.

The spokesperson said that the company’s management had then “threatened everyone and attempted to force them to sign resignation letters”.

The workers then refused, with the spokesperson saying that the company’s management had subsequently threatened to close down the factory entirely and lay every single worker off.

Since then, multiple trade unions, including Ktams, El-Sen, the north’s electricity workers’ trade union, and teachers’ trade union Ktos, have announced that they are boycotting Pepsi until a resolution is found.

“Dismissing workers during a time of economic hardship is unethical. This practice directly affects not only the workers, but also their family … We publicly declare that we are boycotting Pepsi and all related products,” El-Sen said on Tuesday.

On Monday night, the north’s ‘labour minister’ Oguzhan Hasipoglu had said that “there is no reason why unionisation is impossible in the private sector”, and said that the Turkish Cypriot authorities “will investigate any attempts at mass sackings”.

“We have a responsibility to protect the workers, and there is no reason for disengagement … I am acting as a mediator in this process, and I wish to conclude the process through reconciliation, and I do not want it to take too long,” he said.