Hundreds of thousands celebrate labor day across Turkey

Hundreds of thousands of people filled squares in Turkish cities on Tuesday to mark May 1, celebrated as Labor Day in Turkey and around the world. The official name of May 1 in Turkey is Labor and Solidarity Day. Members of trade unions and other civil society organizations in Istanbul met in Taksim Square in the morning, coming from Sisli, Besiktas and Sishane. People chanted slogans and held posters celebrating May 1. The celebrations in Taksim started with a solemn ceremony for the victims of Bloody May Day, May 1 in 1977 when unknown snipers opened fire onto the celebrating crowds in Taksim, killing dozens of people. The organizing committee left flowers in front of the monument erected near Kazanci Hill in their memory, following a minute of silence for the victims. Confederation of Revolutionary Workers’ Unions (DİSK) head Erol Ekici, Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions (KESK) head Lami Ozgen, Republican People’s Party Deputy Chairman Sezgin Tanrikulu and Democratic Left Party (DSP) leader Masum Turker also joined the celebrations. KESK, DİSK, the Turkish Union of Engineers and Architects’ Chambers (TMMOB) and the Turkish Doctors Union (TTB) co-organized the celebrations this year, with trade unions traditionally known to be right-wing groups holding separate events. Football fans of major clubs also joined the celebrations in Taksim. In Ankara, the Confederation of Real Trade Unions (Hak-Is) and the Civil Servants’ Trade Union (Memur-Sen) organized a celebration in Tandogan Square. Employment and Social Security Minister Faruk Celik also attended the May 1 celebrations in Tandogan. He responded to demands from public servants for a 16 percent increase in monthly wages, saying: "We will sit around the table. We started [collective bargaining talks] yesterday, and we will continue. You will demand, as a necessity of democracy, and we will try to give you what you want. We will give less or more than you want, but we will solve this," he said. Celik’s attendance marks the first time a minister has attended May Day celebrations in more than three decades. "Today is a symbolic day for fighting for one’s rights. Today is the festival of all laborers. Happy May 1 to all," he said. The minister said a new draft law on work safety and health will be passed in Parliament before the end of June. Two trade unions, the Confederation of Turkish Labor Unions (Turk-Is) and the Turkish Public Workers’ Union (Turkiye Kamu-Sen), held a celebration rally in Izmir’s Gundogdu Square, which started in the afternoon. The two unions’ presidents attended celebrations in Bursa, where groups that had traveled from Kocaeli, Eskisehir, Bilecik, Yalova, Canakkale, Sakarya, Kutahya and Balikesir gathered in front Ataturk Stadium, from where they marched to Kent Square to mark the day.