Hundreds of Turkish workers employed by Turkish construction company Yapı Merkezi in the Tanzania Railway project have vowed to continue their strike action until their wages are paid.

The Turkish company, which won the tender for the railway project, is facing its biggest resistance from at least 2,000 workers who said they have not been paid for 7 months.

The company is accused of being notorious for usurping workers’ rights. The workers say that they have had enough of it.

The protesting workers have downed tools since August 5, demanding payment of their unpaid wages for the past seven months.

On Friday, when the strike entered its seventh day, the workers who are members of DiSK Union (Construction Workers’ Union) underlined that their families are also victims.

Spokesperson for the workers, Ömer Tanriverdi called for “Let our voices be heard, let the problem be solved”.

He said further, “Some of us cannot pay the rent, and some of us cannot buy food. Some attempt suicide; there is constant mobbing on us.

“We are resisting to get our salaries. We could not get a salary for 7 months easily. Everything in Turkey today is three times the price; our family and our children are victims.”

Özgür Karabulut, President of DiSK/Dev Yapı-is (Construction Workers’ Union), of which the workers are a member, also underlined that the workers resisted resolutely.

“We will carry the voice of our workers everywhere; we will carry out our activities in every channel that will affect the government from ministries and solve the problem” says Karabulut of DiSK

Announcing that they will launch a campaign led by DiSK / Dev Yapı-is for the workers who come to Turkey and cannot receive their receivables, Karabulut said further that: “The company is trying to divide the union of fellow workers and intimidate with the managers at the construction site in order to break the resistance. We do not accept this situation, they should stop oppressing.

“Our colleagues in Tanzania are resisting, if the process takes longer, their families will go to Yapı Merkezi. They have not been paid for 7 months, there are those who are divorced, there are those who have psychological problems, they say that the situation is unbearable. Despite this, the resistance continues with determination. We are working to keep the public agenda alive, we will carry the voice of our colleagues everywhere; we will carry out our activities in every channel that will affect the government from ministries and solve the problem.”

Yapı Merkezi, one of the well-established and large companies in Turkey, which has received the most public tenders, has also undertaken many projects worldwide, particularly in Africa.

Two thousand workers from Turkey started to work in Tanzania to construct the railway line, relying on the size of the company.

However, the workers’ salaries have not been paid for seven months. At least 10 thousand people, including families of 2,000 people in Turkey, suffer from increasing poverty. The workers, who made a short statement at the construction site, went on strike by stopping work on August 7.

Reminding about the February 6 earthquakes, striking workers representative Ömer Tanrıverdi said, Tanrıverdi said, “There are those whose houses were destroyed in the earthquake and there are victims. A friend’s house was destroyed, he sent his family to his father, but he has not been able to send money for months.”