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Dozens of miners on Monday staged a sit-in protest outside Turkey’s Energy Ministry in Ankara, stripping off their shirts and beginning a hunger strike to protest unpaid salaries and compensation, according to AFP.
About 90 workers from Doruk Mining, affiliated with the Independent Miners’ Union, had earlier walked roughly 180 kilometres from Eskisehir to the capital, pressing authorities to address what they described as prolonged wage arrears and unresolved severance claims.
Some demonstrators wrote messages on their bodies, including “Now we are more hungry,” “We will continue until we receive our rights,” and simply, “We are hungry”, while others expressed frustration by striking their helmets on the ground.
The demonstrators said they had sought a meeting with Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar but had not been granted access.
Police reportedly used tear gas as the group arrived in Ankara early Monday and briefly detained several union members before later releasing them.
Doruk Mining, a subsidiary of Yildizlar SSS Holding that operates a thermal power plant in Eskisehir, was previously managed by Turkey’s Savings Deposit Insurance Fund before its transfer in 2022.
Since then, workers say layoffs and unpaid entitlements have accumulated without resolution, according to union accounts and local reports.
