Pepsi ‘refuses to meet’ Turkish Cypriot authorities as strike rolls on

Representatives of international food and beverage corporation PepsiCo’s Turkish subsidiary and its licensed producer in the north Ektam have refused to enter a meeting with the Turkish Cypriot authorities on Thursday morning, with Ektam’s workers having been on strike since last week, the Cyprus Mail has been informed.

A spokesperson for Turkish Cypriot trade union Dev-Is said that while the north’s ‘labour minister’ Oguzhan Hasipoglu had attempted to convene a meeting of representatives of both PepsiCo and Ektam, as well as representatives of trade unions, both PepsiCo and Ektam said they would not meet with trade union representatives.

Instead, the spokesperson said, they wished to meet “directly” with the striking workers with no trade union presence.

Workers downed tools on Friday last week, claiming that the company had attempted to deprive them of their right to unionise, with the company then hitting back and threatening to fire 39 workers in response.

The workers had attempted to join a union affiliated with Dev-Is, and a spokesperson for that union had earlier told the Cyprus Mail that the company had been “ignoring the laws” relating to organised labour in the north.

The spokesperson said that the company’s management had then “threatened everyone and attempted to force them to sign resignation letters”.

The workers then refused, with the spokesperson saying that the company’s management had subsequently threatened to close down the factory entirely and lay every single worker off.

Since then, multiple trade unions, including Ktams, El-Sen, the north’s electricity workers’ trade union, and teachers’ trade union Ktos, have announced that they are boycotting Pepsi until a resolution is found.

“Dismissing workers during a time of economic hardship is unethical. This practice directly affects not only the workers, but also their family … We publicly declare that we are boycotting Pepsi and all related products,” El-Sen said on Tuesday.

On Monday night, Hasipoglu had said that “there is no reason why unionisation is impossible in the private sector”, and said that the Turkish Cypriot authorities “will investigate any attempts at mass sackings”.

“We have a responsibility to protect the workers, and there is no reason for disengagement … I am acting as a mediator in this process, and I wish to conclude the process through reconciliation, and I do not want it to take too long,” he said.

As well as Pepsi, Ektam is the north’s supplier of 7Up and popular local soft drinks including Pergama flavoured water and Yedigun soda.