Company manager sentenced for obstructing union rights

Konya Biogas Electricity Production Inc., Turkey’s largest and Europe’s fifth-largest biogas production facility, began operations in October 2019. Workers at the facility, which employs around 200 people, started organizing under the DİSK Energy Workers' Union (Enerji-Sen). By 2022, the union had reached a 40% membership rate among employees, the legal threshold for official recognition.

Following this, the union applied to the Labor and Social Security Ministry and was granted certification in Sep 2022. In response, the company's management declared to the workers that they would not engage in collective bargaining negotiations and reportedly threatened to shut down the facility if workers did not resign from the union. Additionally, the company challenged the union’s recognition in court.

Meanwhile, the company dismissed three workers who were union members, citing a production decline caused by an explosion that had occurred nearly a year earlier as the reason for their termination.

DİSK Enerji-Sen rejected this explanation, arguing that the real reason for the dismissals was that the three workers had played a founding role in the unionization effort. The union claimed that the terminations were intended to instill fear among other unionized workers. It subsequently took legal action, filing a complaint against General Manager Ali Şahin and Administrative Affairs Manager Egemen Uzak, leading to a case being opened at the Çumra Criminal Court of First Instance.

The trial

The fourth and final hearing of the trial was held on Feb 25. The prosecutor argued that the two defendants had violated Article 118/1 of the Turkish Penal Code, which criminalizes the obstruction of union rights, by terminating the workers' contracts after the notification of the union’s official recognition. The prosecutor further noted that multiple employees had been dismissed and requested that the court apply the provisions for repeat offenses.

On the same day, the court sentenced General Manager Ali Şahin and Administrative Affairs Manager Egemen Uzak to seven months and 15 days in prison for repeatedly preventing workers from exercising their union rights. However, the court applied a reduction for good behavior, lowering the sentence to six months and seven days. The prison terms were then converted into a judicial fine of 3,740 Turkish liras (120 US dollars) each, equivalent to 187 days of imprisonment. The court also suspended the sentences for five years.

Following the ruling, DİSK Enerji-Sen stated, "We hope this decision serves as a precedent and a victory for the working class, demonstrating that employers who obstruct union rights will not go unpunished."

According to the Trade Registry Gazette, Konya Biogas Electricity Production Inc. is listed under İlhanlar Energy and Fertilizer Production Industry and Trade Inc. The company, along with its parent firm, has not reported any taxable income over the past three years. The chairman of the board is Ahmet İlhan, while Uğur Saral serves as vice chairman. (HA/VK)