Declaration For Resistance At Avon
Avon, the global cosmetic company, has a warehouse in Istanbul, located in the industrial area Gebze. With its more than 200 workers, this warehouse has a critical role within the distribution network of Avon in Turkey. There are two types of workers: Some of them (44 workers) are registered as employees of Avon itself and they are supposed to partake in the main activities. The rest (180 workers) are supposed to do the auxiliary tasks and they are registered as workers of a subcontractor. From 28 December 2015 onwards, Klüh, the German multiservice company, has been operating as the official subcontractor.
Even before Klüh, workers have had serious complaints about the unfavorable working conditions in the warehouse such as;
- Main activities and auxiliary tasks problem: According to the Turkish Labour Code, a company could hire subcontractor workers just for the auxiliary tasks. However, although the company alleges that Klüh workers are used for the auxiliary tasks, practically, there is no such a distinction. Klüh workers are used for the main tasks of the job as well. Moreover, the company administration discriminates in favor of the Avon workers.
- Compulsory overtime working: On getting the job, workers are forced to sign a declaration saying that they will work overtime. Workers are obliged to work overtime, and who refuses is exposed to mobbing such as being threatened to be fired.
- OHS violations: Most of the workers suffer from spinal and cervical disc herniation.
- A low wage policy: Even a ten-year-experienced worker gains only the minimum wage and no further payments such as fuel, clothing, holiday etc. allowances are made to the workers. Even the performance premiums paid beforehand were cancelled after the official raise of the minimum-wage.
In addition to these negative working conditions, the new subcontractor, Klüh, urged the workers to sign a new contract which would result in further setbacks in employee personal rights. The new contract,
- lays down a two-month-length trial period as a condition for all workers no matter how long they have been working in the facility. This condition may cancel out all the vested rights of the workers.
- grants Klüh the right to transfer workers of this facility to others where Klüh operates as a subcontractor of other companies.
Approximately 80 workers, who rejected to sign this new contract, have been exposed to harsh mobbing by Klüh. Thereupon, workers have started to organize under the DGD-SEN, the Union of Storehouse, Entrepot, Ship Construction and Ship Transportation Workers. On 19.05.2016, 8 workers were fired without any declared reason. 6 of them are the members of the union. None of them have received a warning concerning performance or behavior at the workplace and some of them were highly experienced and rewarded because of their performances. From 23.05.2016 on, they started a resistance at the entrance of the warehouse in order to protest the action of the company with the following demands;
- The fired workers should be hired back;
- Avon should repeal its contract with Klüh and all workers should be registered as the employees of Avon.
- Avon, with a protocol, should acknowledge the DGD-SEN
The following list shows just the relevant information of workers who were fired:
NAME |
JOB |
SUBCONTARCTOR |
LENGTH OF SERVICE |
MEMBER OF THE UNION |
Ela Kayaoğlu |
Ordering and Shipping |
Klüh |
6 months |
Yes |
Aylin Melisa Özkan |
Ordering and Shipping |
Klüh |
6 months |
Yes |
Emel Eralp |
Ordering and Shipping |
Klüh |
3 months |
No |
Mehmet Terece |
Product feeding and Shipping |
Klüh |
8 months |
Yes |
Fatih Dündar |
Product feeding and Shipping |
Klüh |
8 months |
Yes |
Eylem Görgü |
Order picking |
Klüh |
10 years |
Yes |
Akın Gerçek |
Product feeding and Shipping |
Klüh |
5 years |
Yes |
Fatma Çimen |
Ordering and Shipping |
Klüh |
6 months |
No |
THE RELATION BETWEEN AVON AND ITS SUBCONTRACTOR KLÜH IS NOT LEGAL
SUBCONTRACTOR KLÜH MUST GO AWAY AND ALL WORKERS MUST BE PERMANENT STUFF IN AVON
The discrimination between subcontracted workers and permanent stuff working in Gebze Storehouse of the company Avon is not legal. The contract between the subcontractor Klüh and Avon is simulated, therefore it is not legally valid.
According to Labor Law, the relation between the producer company and the other employer taking responsibility in ancillary works relating the production of goods and services or giving a special aid due to the nature of producer, the nature of work or technological reasons is referred as the relation between the primary employer and sub-employer. On the other hand, according to the Regulation of Sub-Employment which was based on the definition of the relation between these two parties in Labor Law, outsourcing some parts of the primary work which do not require any specialization to the sub-employer, therefore avoiding public obligations and any transactions that aim to conceal the parties’ actual intentions such as constraining the rights of workers based on their labor contract or labor legislations are prearranged and legally not valid.
For long years, Avon have had essential part of its workers insured under these sub-contractor companies unlawfully, therefore have made them work with low salaries and without job security; and additionally it tries to prevent workers’ organization by separating them using different categories like white/blue collar or permanent/sub-contracted workers. New sub-contractors want workers to sign new contracts and hence they try to prevent their rights based on their collective labor contracts or legal regulations. Currently, Avon administration “discriminates” permanent workers under the roof of Avon against sub-contracted workers bound up with Klüh.
So it is imperative for Avon to end this unlawful relation with Klüh immediately. Klüh must be cleared off from Avon. All workers must be recognized as permanent workers of Avon. There must be no separation between permanent and sub-contracted workers. They must pay equal wage for equal work and end this illegal and unethical discrimination.