United Trade Union of Transport Employees, BTS, is a union that has members of public employees from railways, airports, seaports, Undersecretariat for Maritime Affairs and Ministry of Transport.
Distinction between workers-public employees, because of the law, has led public employees to associate separately. As BTS, we think that the distinction between workers and public servants is totally arbitrary. For us public employees are a part of working class. We defend that public employees unions, like “labour union”, have right of strike and collective bargaining. On one hand BTS struggles to defend its members’ right, on the other hand; it struggles to gain democratic trade union rights like strike and collective bargaining with the Confederation of Public Employees Trade Unions, KESK to which it is affiliated. In order to accomplish it in the most effective way, we support mentality of massive trade unionism with class struggle.
Brief History
The trade union, which is known as BTS, is a production of struggle of association for long years. First attempts of trade unions in railways go back to the beginning of 20th Century. However the laws of Tatil-i Eşgali and Takrir-i Sükun, which were passed respectively in 1908 and 1925, have prohibited trade unionism till 1946. Turkish Federation of Railway Workers Unions was established in the 1952. Public Employees’ Trade Unions, with the 1961 Constitution, started some union activities after the 1965.
The Turkish Railway (TCDD) Federation, which was established in the 1965, Engine Drivers Personnel Trade Unions in Turkey and Strokers Trade Union, which were established in the 1967, TİMAS and The Trade Union of Turkish Railway Public Employee and Servants, which were established in the 1968, were the most important organizations of this union movement.
The military coup in the 1971 closed the public employees’ unions in the railway sector. The coup prohibited “establishing public employee unions” with a constitutional change.
Association activities restarted with DEMARD (The Association of Engine Drivers Strokers and Revisers) that established in the 1972. DEMARD was re-opened after the military coup in the 1980. The period after that was determined by struggle for union. There was a process of establishment and join of some new associations. The Association of Active Railway Public Employees was established on 24 October 1985 and it joined with DEMARD Haydarpaşa Branch in the 1988. This organization changed its name as the Railway Workers Association on 25 March 1990. The process union became successful with the establishment of TÜMRAY-SEN on 13 November 1991 in Istanbul. TÜMRAY-SEN became the basis of current BTS. Therefore our history goes back to the establishment of this union. Beside that the Union of Railway Workers (DEM-SEN) was established in on 10 December 1991 in Ankara. TÜMRAY-SEN joined with DEM-SEN on 6 February 1993. Activities till this period were about to collect association of railway workers under one union.
TÜMHAVA-SEN and DEMİRYOL-SEN joined and established the BTS. Due to the various reason LİM-SEN stayed out of this establishment.
PATH TO THE BTS
DEMİRYOL-SEN became member of ITF in March 1994. It brought a wider approach to transportation field. In that time DEMİRYOL-İŞ, TÜMTİS, HAVA-İŞ, LİMAN-İŞ, Turkish Mariners Trade Union and TÜMHAVA-SEN were also member to ITF. Activities of join started among DEMİRYOL-SEN, TÜMHAVA-SEN and LİM-SEN that were trade unions of public employees in the branch of transport. The joint statement of the three trade unions on 18 June 1994 was “Despite all pressures, we public employees work in Railway, Seaport and Airports, established and improved our trade unions with our own power to become a party in gaining our any rights and interests, with rightful and legitimacy basis to gain right of strike and collective bargaining. We carried out our struggle with other trade unions in platforms that we established with other trade unions, which defend the mentality of trade unionism with class struggle. Our trade unions, which defend union of workers in branch of industry, all over the country and the world, decided to establish trade unionist join, on the basis of this principle, in the field of transport.”
TÜMHAVA-SEN and DEMİRYOL-SEN, which were public employee trade unions and had members in airports, joined and established BTS on 25 August 1994.
BTS defends the union of workers for common interests of working class and has been conducting its struggle to build a stronger trade union, to gain right of strike and collective bargaining in the branch of industry since its establishment.
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