Gendarmerie Responds With Tear Gas to Soma İmbat Mining Workers' March to Ankara

Miners working at İmbat Mining in Soma district, Manisa, have launched a march to Ankara to recover wages they have not received regularly for over a year and to claim payments owed under their collective bargaining agreement. Gendarmerie intervened against the workers seeking their rights by deploying tear gas.

Despite the intervention, workers did not back down. The workers, announcing to the public that they will not abandon the march under any circumstances, called on all labor and professional organizations, citizens, and the public to stand in solidarity.

Soma is a district that entered history through a major mining disaster in 2014 in which 301 miners lost their lives, and the working and living conditions of miners continue to keep public attention on the issue. The workers emphasized their determination to continue the march with demands for payment of their outstanding wages and recognition of their rights under the collective bargaining agreement.