The squares, factories, warehouses and streets were filled with the anger and enthusiasm of working women! On March 8, International Working Women's Day, tens of thousands of women across Turkey cried out for equal pay for equal work, free daycare, publicization of care work, and against precarity and subcontractor exploitation. This year's demonstrations were not just a celebration; they were a sign of a growing revolt against the bosses' miserable wages, the male-dominated trade union mentality and neoliberal destruction.
Millions of working women in Turkey work precariously, with salaries around minimum wage and long shifts, while shouldering the burden of domestic care for free. This double exploitation of the capitalist system is no longer an individual fate; it is turning into a collective reckoning through class-conscious women workers, trade unions and labor organizations.
Hope rising from the resistance: Migros warehouses and women's leadership in the metal sector
In recent months, the resistance of working women has produced concrete gains against the order of exploitation. The 23-day de facto resistance led by DGD-SEN in Migros warehouses, covering 14 warehouses in 10 provinces, was a historic struggle in which women workers were at the forefront. Against the miserable 28 percent raise, tax cuts, subcontracting and poor working conditions, the women workers stood up with the demands of ’Net 50 percent raise!“, ”Right to tenure!“, ”Humane wages!“ and brought the boss to the table with the resistance and achieved important gains. Warehouse worker women tell their stories: ”Women win everything through struggle!“ This resistance spread to other supermarket warehouses such as Şok, A101 and BİM, creating a chain effect.
Women workers in the metal sector do not remain silent either. Taking an active role in assemblies, strikes and in front of factories, women are putting the slogan “We will win by resisting!” into concrete action. This struggle, which challenges women's representation even in male-dominated union structures, carries the rights of the entire working class forward.
Our demands are clear and urgent: For a future without exploitation!
On March 8, we must maintain the momentum of struggle to carry the joy of March 8 to every day. The common demands of working women are as follows:
- Legislation and supervision for equal pay for equal work!
- Free, quality crèche and daycare services in every neighborhood!
- Turning care work into a public responsibility - not on the backs of bosses and the state, but a shared burden of society!
- Real women's representation in trade unions and equal say in decision-making!
- No more subcontracting, precarious work, and code 29!
When these demands are realized, women's employment will increase, economic independence will be strengthened, and gender equality will have a concrete basis. The gains that the secular Republic brought to women (the right to vote and be elected, civil equality) are today being revived and expanded by the class struggle of working women.
Our greatest weapon: Unity, solidarity and organization!
The unity of working women is the biggest fear of the bosses. The slogans raised in the squares, the steps taken in the warehouses, the women's commissions established in the unions... All prove that an equal, free and exploitation-free world is possible.
History shows us: When working women organize and resist, gains are inevitable. There is no room for despair and pessimism! It is up to all of us to carry the flame of March 8 to factories, neighborhoods and every working area; to raise women's voices louder; to expand solidarity and to follow the demands with determination.
Long live the organized struggle of working women!
Long live March 8th!
Equality, freedom and a humane life will come with the united power of working women!
We will resist and win!