İzmir Municipal Workers End Weeklong Strike After Wage Agreement
izmir limani
After a week of halted services and mounting tension, İzmir’s major municipal strike came to an end as the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality and the DİSK General İş union reached a formal agreement.
The strike involved nearly 23,000 workers from İZELMAN, İZENERJİ, and Egeşehir, and had severely disrupted city services, including waste collection. The conflict was resolved following a final wage offer from Mayor Cemil Tugay, which the union accepted in a rare open-vote decision.
Wage Hike Finalized: Minimum Pay Set at 66,000 TL
Under the new agreement, municipal workers will receive a 30% salary increase for the first six months and a 19% raise for the second half of the year. With the deal in place, the lowest wage in the municipality will be 66,000 Turkish Liras.
The proposal—described by Tugay as his final offer—was put on the table during late-night negotiations and ultimately accepted by the union after days of intense back-and-forth.
Tensions on the Streets: Accusations of Strikebreaking
Prior to the deal, talks had stalled, prompting Mayor Tugay to personally join waste collection efforts on the streets—a move that sparked outrage from union leaders, who accused the municipality of strikebreaking tactics.
Despite the friction, both sides have now confirmed that signatures will soon be finalized on the new collective labor agreement, bringing an official close to one of İzmir’s largest municipal strikes in recent years.