March 2026 Wildcat Strike Report

In March 2026, the number of wildcat strikes decreased compared to previous months. This month was marked by a nationwide strike organized by education laborers against violence in schools, following the murder of a teacher named Fatma Nur Çelik by a student. Because this strike took place in numerous cities and workplaces and the exact number of workplaces where the strike occurred could not be clearly determined, it will not be considered alongside other strikes that took place in March; information regarding the strike will be provided in the relevant section of the report.

According to data obtained from press and social media monitoring, in addition to the collective strike by education laborers; Wildcat strikes took place at 16 workplaces total in 10 cities: 3 workplaces in the construction sector in Ankara, Istanbul, and Muğla; 5 workplaces in the mining sector, including 2 in Amasya, 1 in Izmir, 1 in Manisa, and 1 in Ankara; and 1 workplace in the transportation sector in Izmir, at 1 workplace in the Textiles, Garments and Leather sector in Gaziantep, and at 6 workplaces in the Trade, Office, Education and Fine Arts sector in Adana, Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir, Ordu, and Urfa.

3 strikes took place in Ankara, 3 in Izmir, 2 in Istanbul, and 2 in Amasya; one strike each took place in Manisa, Muğla, Gaziantep, Adana, Ordu, and Şanlıurfa.

The strikes resulted with achievements in 4 workplaces, including 2 in the Construction sector, 1 in the Mining and Quarrying sector, and 1 in the Textiles, Garments and Leather sector. The strikes at 6 workplaces in the Trade, Office, Education, and Fine Arts sector ended without any achievements. Information could not be obtained regarding how and when the strikes concluded at 6 workplaces, including 1 in the Construction sector, 4 in the Mining and Quarrying sector, and 1 in the Transportation sector.

1.Construction

1.1.Ankara Natura Vadi Construction Site

Start Date: 10.03.2026

End Date: 11.03.2026

City: Ankara

Result: Goals Achieved

Construction workers employed by subcontractor Buay Enerji-Voltex Enerji at the Ankara Natura Vadi project, which is being built by the Fırat Rast construction partnership in Ankara, started a wildcat strike on March 10, 2026, due to non-payment of their wages. Following discussions with company officials, an agreement was reached regarding the payment of wages, and the strike ended on March 11.

1.2.Istanbul Finance Centre Construction Site

Start Date: 10.03.2026

End Date: 12.03.2026

City: İstanbul

Result: Goals Achieved

Workers at the hotel construction site in the Istanbul Financial Center started a wildcat strike on March 10, 2026, due their wages not being paid. The strike ended on March 12 after an agreement was reached with Emlak Konut officials to resume negotiations with the companies.

1.3.Bayır Middle School Construction Site

Start Date: 12.03.2026

End Date: No Information

City: Muğla

Result: No Information

Workers at the Bayır Middle School construction site in Bayır Mahallesi, Menteşe district, Muğla, started a wildcat strike on March 12, 2026, because they hadn't been paid for about five months. There is no information in the press or social media channels about how and when the strike ended.

2.Mining and Quarries

2.1.Polyak Mining

Start Date: 20.02.2026

End Date: 05.03.2026

City: İzmir

Result: Goals Achieved

Mining workers employed at Polyak Mining in the Kınık district of İzmir started a wildcat strike on February 20, 2026, due to underpayment of wages and violations of occupational safety regulations. The strike ended on March 5, 2026, with the payment of all the workers' outstanding wages.

2.2.İmbat Mining

Start Date: 25.02.2026

End Date: No Information

City: Manisa

Result: No Information

Workers at İmbat Madencilik, located in the Eynez region of Manisa's Soma district, started a wildcat strike on February 25, 2026, due to the non-payment of their rights arising from the collective bargaining agreement and the failure to reflect the inflation difference in their wages. There is no information available in the press or social media channels about how and when the strike ended.

2.3.Yeni Anadolu Mining

Start Date: 26.02.2026

End Date: No Information

City: Amasya, Manisa

Result: No Information

Workers employed at the mines owned by Yeni Anadolu Mining in the Merzifon district of Amasya and the Soma district of Manisa started a wildcat strike on February 26, 2026, due to not receiving their inflation adjustments and the late payment of their monthly wages. There is no information available in the press or social media channels about how and when the strike ended.

2.4.Doruk Mining

Start Date: 07.03.2026

End Date: No Information

City: Ankara

Result: No Information

Workers at Doruk Madencilik, operating in Çayırhan, a town in the Nallıhan district of Ankara, started a wildcat strike on March 7, 2026, because they hadn't been paid for months. There is no information available in the press or on social media channels about how and when the strike ended.

3.Transportation

3.1.Menemen Migros Warehouse Delivery Drivers

Start Date: 02.03.2026

End Date: No Information

City: İzmir

Result: No Information

Drivers delivering shipments at the Migros warehouse in the Menemen district of Izmir started a wildcat strike on March 2, 2026, demanding a 60% pay increase after rejecting a 10% raise. There is no information available in the press or on social media channels about how and when the strike ended.

4.Weaving, Garment and Leather

4.1.Sırma Carpet

Start Date: 10.03.2026

End Date: 23.03.2026

City: Antep

Result: Goals Achieved

Workers at the Sırma Halı factory in Antep started a wildcat strike on March 10, 2026, due to late payment of their wages. As the strike continued, some workers had their employment contracts terminated, while the strike ended on March 23 after the wages of the remaining workers were paid.

5.Trade, Office, Education and Fine Arts

5.1.Eğitim-Sen Headquarters and Branches

Start Date: 27.03.2026

End Date: 27.03.2026

City: Adana, Ankara, İstanbul, İzmir, Ordu, Urfa

Result: No Goals Achieved

Workers employed at the Eğitim-Sen headquarters and branches staged a half-day wildcat strike on March 27, 2026, following the failure to reach an agreement during the 8th round of collective bargaining negotiations between the Sosyal-İş Union, of which they are members, and Eğitim-Sen. Based on what we were able to determine from press and social media channels, union employees in at least six cities, including Adana, Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir, Ordu, and Urfa, participated in the strike.

6. Public Sector Labor Strikes

6.1.Education Laborers Strike

Sector: Education and Science Services (Public)

Start Date: 03.03.2026

End Date: 03.03.2026

City: Adana, Adıyaman, Afyon, Ağrı, Amasya, Ankara, Antalya, Antep, Artvin, Aydın, Balıkesir, Batman, Bolu, Bursa, Çorum, Denizli, Dersim, Diyarbakır, Edirne, Elazığ, Eskişehir, Giresun, Hakkari, Hatay, İstanbul, İzmir, Kayseri, Kırıkkale, Kırklareli, Kocaeli, Malatya, Manisa, Maraş, Mardin, Mersin, Muğla, Rize, Samsun, Sakarya, Siirt, Sivas, Trabzon, Urfa, Van

Sonuç: No Goals Achieved

Following the death of teacher Fatma Nur Çelik, who was stabbed by a student at Taşdelen Borsa İstanbul Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School in Istanbul's Çekmeköy district, education laboers staged a nationwide wildcat strike following the call of Eğitim Sen, Eğitim-İş, Anadolu Eğitim Sen, TÖB SEN, Öğretmen Sendikası, Hürriyetçi Eğitim Sen and TEÇ-SEN unions.

According to press and social media reports, the strikes took place in at least 44 cities, including Adana, Adıyaman, Afyon, Ağrı, Amasya, Ankara, Antalya, Antep, Artvin, Aydın, Balıkesir, Batman, Bolu, Bursa, Çorum, Denizli, Dersim, Diyarbakır, Edirne, Elazığ, Eskişehir, Giresun, Hakkari, Hatay, İstanbul, İzmir, Kayseri, Kırıkkale, Kırklareli, Kocaeli, Malatya, Manisa, Maraş, Mardin, Mersin, Muğla, Rize, Samsun, Sakarya, Siirt, Sivas, Trabzon, Urfa and Van.