whose numbers were rising and who gathered support from different sections of society— seven were taken into custody by the police on December 3. After being released, workers who wanted to continue to protest were prevented from doing so by the police using plastic bullets and tear gas. Protestors continued to be taken and detained at protests in the following days. On August 1, 2019, participants of a collective bargaining agreements campaign from the Confederation of Public Workers’ Unions (KESK), were prevented from marching or making statements. Representatives of the Confederation’s executive board wanted to march to the building of Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Services with the support of a number of MPs and party representatives, but police forces prevented them from doing so by using tear gas and hitting individuals with batons. Many union executives were injured and some were taken into custody.21 Employees of Özsüt, a well-known confectioner chain, launched a sit-in protest in July 2019 in front of the Kadıköy branch, claiming that they had not received their salaries and some of their colleagues were fired without severance. On the 24th day of the sit-in the police used excessive violence to disperse these employees and took 22 protestors into custody. Employees, who were kept at the Kadıköy police station were transferred to the Istanbul Directorate of Security on Vatan Street that night. There, once their statements were taken, the 22 workers were released.22 A September 2018 large-scale protest of the construction workers for the 3rd (Istanbul) Airport, organised after the State of Emergency ended, was banned due to the climate created by the State of Emergency. This case will be summarised below in a separate section. A Striking Example of de facto State of Emergency: The Case of Istanbul Airport (3rd Airport) Construction Workers Unfit working conditions in the constructions of the new airport, which began in 2013 in the north of Istanbul, included: unhealthy accommodation, heavy 21 http://www.kesk.org.tr/2019/08/01/tis-gorusmeleri-kamu-emekcilerine-saldiriyla-baslamistir/ (Accessed on 26.08.2019). 22 https://bianet.org/bianet/emek/210854-ozsut-calisanlari-anlatti-darp-edildik-iskence-gorduk 34 C O L L E C T I V E R I G H T S O F W O R K E R S U N D E R T U R K E Y ’ S C O N T I N U O U S S TAT E O F E M E R G E N C Y T R A D E U N I O N R I G H T S I N E U R O P E A N A N D E U R O P E A N - A F F I L I AT E D E N T E R P R I S E S Source: Uncertain - [2018 - Protest of workload, late salary payments, and insufficient protection workers in the consmeasures. These eventually led to rising numbers of accidents truction site of the 3rd Airport] and deaths causing workers give rise to a series of protests. Workers organised several marches to seek solutions to their problems. It is most likely that the pressure to open the airport on October 29, 2018, Republic Day, exacerbated the conditions at the construction site. A September 14, 2018 shuttle accident resulting in several injuries was the catalyst for the eruption of protests. Following this accident, more than 20,000 workers stopped working and started protesting. Through representatives, the workers communicated their 17-points of demand for improving working conditions. Other than security forces forcing some workers to continue, construction at the site completely had effectively been halted until September 17. At a meeting held on September 14 between the district governors, district gendarmerie commander, and the CEO of IGA (the consortium formed to build the airport), the demands of the worker were found to be reasonable. Workers received verbal promises that their problems would be solved in time, and subsequently asked to return to work. Despite this verbal consensus, the representative of the employer refused the demand of workers to sign a protocol for the agreement on enhancements. Due to this, the meeting remained inconclusive and union representatives released a statement that protests will continue. On the night of September 15, 2018, on government orders, security forces broke down dormitory doors in an overnight operation around 2AM. Over 2,700 workers were subject to violence and taken into custody. While in detained, none were allowed to contact lawyers or relatives, and eventually some were arrested. Four İnşaat-İş Union leaders and 20 workers were detained for 84 T H E P I C T U R E O F L A B O U R R I G H T S V I O L AT I O N S I N T U R K E Y 35