The workers of the General Directorate of Tea Enterprises (Çaykur) started a strike early today due to a disagreement between the Tekg?da-?? union and the Kamu-?? union (Public Enterprises’ Employers’ Union).

The union said they walked out to demand their unpaid wages from the past and the gap of the raises during the period. The strike, which is reportedly the largest public strike in the last 20 years in Turkey, began at 8:00 am today, announced by Tekg?da-?? Head Mustafa Türkel, union administrators, and workers in front of the Çaykur headquarters in the northern province of Rize.

Around 10,000 workers in 58 enterprises strike for the first time in Çaykur’s history, as Tekg?da-?? and Kamu-?? have not been able to reach an agreement on a collective labor contract for five years, according to a Tekg?da-?? statement released yesterday.

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