Workers at the Swatch Group’s stores in Turkey will launch a nationwide strike on Monday after collective bargaining talks with the company collapsed, the union representing them announced.
The strike will involve employees from 16 stores operated by the Swiss watchmaker, including Swatch and Omega shops in İstanbul, Ankara and Antalya, as well as the company’s country office in İstanbul, according to the Turkish Koop-İş union.
It marks the first industrial action against the Swatch Group in Turkey and follows weeks of negotiations over wages, benefits and workplace rights.
Koop-İş, which is affiliated with the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (Türk-İş), said workers were dissatisfied with pay offers that failed to keep up with inflation, which stood at 32.9 percent in October according to official data.
The union said it sought fairer pay scales for both store and office staff, the creation of disciplinary boards to prevent summary dismissals and equal access to bonuses and social benefits across all company units.
In an earlier statement Koop-İş President Eyüp Alemdar said the union had made every effort to reach a fair deal but was left with no choice but to strike after Swatch Group management rejected key demands.
The planned strike, which is backed by UNI Global Union in Switzerland, will begin at 10 a.m. local time on November 10 at all Swatch Group workplaces in Turkey.
Swatch Group, headquartered in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland, manufactures brands including Swatch, Omega, Tissot and Longines. Turkey ranks as the 18th-largest market for Swiss watch exports this year, according to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry.