Earthquake survivors in Türkiye successfully challenge factory’s refusal to pay severance
Baykan Denim, a leading denim manufacturer in Malatya, dismissed all its workers who had to move away after the earthquake without compensation. While an employer in Türkiye is entitled to unilaterally dismiss a worker who is unable to come to work, Turkish law states that in case of force majeure, such as an earthquake, the worker should receive severance. This the company refused to do, despite the dire situation of most of the workers, who only moved to other cities or family members elsewhere after the recent disaster destroyed their homes and chance to find affordable living elsewhere in the destroyed city.
The 6 February 2023 earthquake in South Eastern Türkiye and Syria of 6 February 2023 killed over 50,000 people and displaced millions. In response, the government declared a three-month state of emergency under which layoffs were banned, although workers could unilaterally be put on unpaid leave while receiving a small state subsidy for living costs. While meant to protect workers rights, many employers found their way around the rules - as was the case for Baykan Denim.
A group of 28 of the affected Baykan workers, together with the United Textile, Weaving and Leather Workers' Union (BİRTEK-SEN) and the Clean Clothes Campaign reached out to the international garment brands sourcing from the company, which included the Spanish Inditex Group (Zara, Bershka, etc), German brand s.Oliver, UK brands Next, Marks & Spencer, Asda, Scandinavian companies Bestseller (Jack & Jones, Vero Moda, etc), Gina Tricot, and Varner, and US brand Urban Outfitters.
While most of these brands initially acknowledged that Baykan Denim’s failure to compensate the workers was a violation of their company standards, many went on to urge workers to instead sue the manufacturer themselves - a long and costly process, especially for workers bereft of their homes and livelihoods. Also the multi-stakeholder initiatives that many of these brands rely on for their corporate social responsibility obligations, the Ethical Trading Initiative and Fair Wear Foundation, failed to take appropriate action to ensure these workers were compensated.
Eventually only one company, Inditex, heeded the workers’ and campaigners’ appeal to take responsibility to remediate a gross human rights violation at a time of extreme vulnerability against workers in their supply chain. In December 2024, Baykan Denim, compensated all affected workers united by BİRTEK-SEN who had not taken legal steps against the company in full. This month, it also compensated the workers who started a lawsuit against the company for the severance that they were owed and the legal costs they had to make to sue for what was legally owed to them. In total they received 1.136.435,92 TL (close to 32,000 USD). 10 remaining workers decided to continue the lawsuit against the company. While this process only affects the 28 workers who organised themselves through BİRTEK-SEN, the full amount of uncompensated workers from the factory amounts to 270. They should receive justice as well.
Bego Demir, coordinator at Clean Clothes Campaign Türkiye, states: “Eight major brands and two multi stakeholder initiatives were content to let workers who had just lost their homes and livelihoods fend for themselves, hiding behind the processes of national law instead of proactively pursuing the case of these workers. This case however also shows that a brand which is willing to live up to its responsibility can have a serious influence on the supply chain and take meaningful action to protect the rights of workers and remedy violations of those rights.”