Protesting coal miners from Doruk Madencilik have returned to the capital after a government-backed deal to pay their overdue wages failed.
The miners previously ended a high-profile demonstration in late April following strict guarantees from three ministries that all debts would be settled by May 15. Because those promises were broken, the workers marched back to Ankara to demand their rights.
The traveling miners faced immediate police blockades in the Beypazarı district. However, 36 workers bypassed the restrictions using alternative routes to reach the headquarters of Yıldızlar SSS Holding, where unions and opposition political parties gathered in solidarity. Representatives from several opposition parties, including the CHP’s Özgür Özel, İYİ Party’s Turhan Çömez, Zafer Parti’s Ümit Özdağ, TİP’s Erkan Baş, went there to support miners.
As tensions escalated outside the headquarters, the company began sending rushed bank transfers to workers. Mürsel Ünder, a lawyer for the Independent Mining Workers' Union (Bağımsız Maden-İş), confirmed they are verifying the transfers with Halkbank. “As of today, the money has started to be deposited,” Ünder stated. “This business is not over until every single miner says 'I received my right'.”
ANKA News Agency reported that the company paid 280 million lira over two days, covering roughly 98 percent of the workforce. However, a remaining two percent of the miners have challenged the calculations. Labor Ministry inspectors have been deployed to review the seniority records while the remaining miners vowed to camp outside the corporate offices until every lira is paid.
The dispute dates back to 2022 when the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) transferred the mine to Yıldızlar SSS Holding. Workers launched massive protests in April after enduring months of unpaid regular wages, missing overtime, and forced unpaid leave. During that wave of unrest, the miners marched from Eskişehir to Ankara, staged a nine-day hunger strike, and faced severe police crackdowns, including tear gas and mass detentions.
