Iran Labour Confederation – Abroad has issued a formal letter of solidarity addressed to the striking workers of the Şık Makas garment factory in Tokat, Turkey, and to the independent and militant union BİRTEK-SEN. The letter expresses full and unconditional support for their more than 100-day-long organized struggle against mass layoffs, unpaid wages and severance, employer intimidation, and attempts to break workers’ dignity through administrative repression.
The Şık Makas strike has become a powerful example of collective resistance, showing how workers can build unity, political awareness, and determination even under harsh conditions of poverty, pressure, and institutional hostility. The Confederation highlighted the importance of the workers’ confrontation not only with the employer, but also with forms of “yellow syndicalism” that abandon workers at critical moments.
Special emphasis was placed on the role of BİRTEK-SEN as a union that stood alongside workers in the field of struggle, demonstrating the meaning of genuine independent labor organization. The Confederation also underlined the deeper political significance of this struggle, describing it as a process of moving from individual survival to collective power and dignity.
In the letter, the Confederation stressed that the struggles of workers in Turkey and Iran are interconnected. At a time when Iranian workers and broader society are facing repression, poverty, and state violence, the solidarity shown by Şık Makas workers represents a concrete and living expression of international working-class unity.
The Confederation reaffirmed its commitment to amplifying the voices of Şık Makas workers in international labor networks and emphasized that cross-border solidarity remains a vital weapon against exploitation, repression, and global injustice.
Addressed to the Striking Workers of “Şık Makas” and the BİRTEK-SEN Union
Militant workers of Şık Makas,
Our comrades in the independent and progressive union BİRTEK-SEN,
Iran Labour Confederation – Abroad sends its warmest greetings and declares its full and unconditional solidarity with your courageous, organized, and inspiring struggle.
One hundred days of resistance against the mass dismissal of 1,300 workers, the seizure of wages and severance pay, the disgraceful labeling under “Code 22,” and the employer’s deliberate attempt to crush workers’ human dignity represent far more than a strike. It stands as a powerful example of class resistance and collective political awakening. Your struggle has shown that even under the harshest conditions, repression, poverty, and humiliation, the working class can forge an organized, conscious, and determined force.
Your steadfast confrontation with the employer, combined with your refusal to submit to “yellow syndicalism” that abandons workers at critical moments, constitutes a valuable experience for the labor movement across the region and globally. The removal of the stigmatizing “Code 22,” the partial recovery of unpaid wages, and the preservation of unity in the depths of winter are achievements made possible only through solidarity, independent organization, and reliance on collective power.
We extend particular respect to BİRTEK-SEN for its role in this struggle, an organization that stood with the workers, not above them. This partnership has demonstrated that genuine labor unions find their meaning only when they stand on the front lines of struggle, alongside working people, and against capital and repression.
The workers of Şık Makas have rightly stated that this struggle went beyond a mere “battle for bread”; it became a school for moving from “I” to “we.” This lesson is precisely what the Iranian working class is learning today amid widespread protests against poverty, authoritarianism, and state violence. For this reason, your support and solidarity with Iranian workers and people are not merely a political message; they are a living expression of international working-class solidarity.
Iran Labour Confederation – Abroad affirms that our struggles are interconnected. Your victory strengthens the labor movement in Iran and the region, just as the resistance of Iranian workers forms part of our shared fight against exploitation, repression, and global injustice. We stress the necessity of deepening international ties, mutual support, the exchange of experiences, and coordinated action among independent labor unions and organizations.
We stand firmly by your side and unequivocally support your just demands: reinstatement to work, full payment of wages and severance, an end to fabricated charges, and guarantees of job security. We will amplify your voices within international labor networks and continue to press for expanded global solidarity with your struggle.
Şık Makas workers are not alone.
BİRTEK-SEN is not alone.
The working class, united, will prevail.
With respect and solidarity,
Iran Labour Confederation – Abroad
14 January 2026
