Postal workers in Turkey organized under Haber-Sen union protested the increasingly hard working conditions as a result of privatization.

The union staged a press release in front of the Postal Administration and Distribution Center in Diyarbakır, a South-Eastern city of Turkey.

The main issue of not hiring enough workers for the necessary work was addressed in the gathering where postal workers joined the union for the protest.

Sabri Gündüz, the branch secretary of the local office reminded that the Turkey’s postal service had been transformed to a corporation in 2013.  This change allowed more political interference to the organization.

Mehmet Yıldız, the recruitment secretary of the union detailed how the postal office had abandoned the original mandate of servicing the needs of the people and had become a work horse for generating profits.  This put the extra burden on the shoulders of the postal workers who are now seen only as a mechanical object.

This new situation pits the postal workers against the people in everyday life where unsatisfied customers vent out their frustrations against those working for the institution.  Many workers face threats and assaults due to deteriorating services and unsafe working conditions in the public.

Yılmaz emphasized that the working conditions are unbearable for the postal workers due to not hiring any more personnel.

He also likened the situation to what the telecommunication service suffered when corporatization and privatization destroyed the public institution Türk Telekom in that sector.

In another related news, the postal workers in Istanbul Acıbadem distribution center stopped work yesterday due to being forced to carry very heavy boxes that were beyond their ability to lift.

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