T/C LABOR UNIONS DISAPPOINTED WITH "GOVERNMENT"

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 NICOSIA 000365

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

FOR EUR/SE MCLEGG-TRIPP AND EMELLINGER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV ELAB PHUM CY
SUBJECT: T/C LABOR UNIONS DISAPPOINTED WITH "GOVERNMENT"
SUPPORT

REF: A. (A) NICOSIA 140


B. (B) NICOSIA 103


1. Summary: Turkish Cypriot (T/C) labor union leaders are
voicing growing disappointment with the performance of the
current "TRNC government." The Republican Turkish Party
(CTP) came to power in 2005 with overwhelming labor support,
union representatives told us in a series of recent meetings;
several "ministers" and "MPs" were former labor leaders
themselves. Faced with hard budgetary decisions, however,
the administration increasingly is taking on the unions,
especially those representing the civil service. All
asserted the CTP could not take labor's vote for granted in
future elections. End summary.

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Ideological Beginnings
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2. In recent weeks, Poloffs have surveyed the leaders of
north Cyprus's largest and most influential labor unions and
federations. All were founded after the 1974 conflict, union
reps recounted, and each has strong political and ideological
roots. The 1,800-member, four-union federation Dev-Is was
established in 1976 on Marxist principles, leader Mehmet
Seyis revealed. Its founders had aimed to offer workers an
alternative to pro-"state" unions, which at the time were
backed by nationalist authorities who administered northern
Cyprus until 2005.


3. Hur-Is, another labor federation, is the result of two of
these pro-"state" unions fusing in 1993. Leader Ozay Andic
reported that Hur-Is now comprises six unions representing
7,200 members, including civil servants, "state" radio/TV
workers, "municipal" officials, bank officers, Cyprus Turkish
Airlines employees, and Eastern Mediterranean University
(EMU) non-academics. Other prominent labor organizations in
the north include DAU-Per-Sen, a nationalistic union
representing EMU workers, and DAU-Bir-Sen, which the CTP
formed in 2002 to compete with DAU-Per-Sen. The latter two
actually joined forces in late 2006 to shut down EMU in
perhaps the highest-profile union action in northern Cyprus
in recent years.

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Pragmatism Sells
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4. Union leaders across the political spectrum downplayed
ideology when discussing their organizations. Hur-Is's Andic
would only admit that his federation had a "political
attitude," claiming it was no longer closely tied to north
Cyprus nationalists. He further stated that each of Hur-Is's
six union leaders belonged to different parties or were
apolitical. "We are more worried about retaining and
attracting members than pushing an ideological mantra," Andic
continued. Seyis, of the Marxist Dev-Is, claimed that
foisting "utopian slogans" was a tough sell. Protecting
workers' rights and pushing employers to meet EU labor
standards was more attractive to members, current and
prospective. "In the global economy," DAU-Bir-Sen leader
Tevfik Yoldas told us, "workers cannot afford to be divided
along political lines;" DAU-Per-Sen leader Mudahar Akar
agreed, attributing the 2006 success in extracting
concessions from EMU to a united labor front.


5. Head of the secondary school teachers' union KTOEOS Adnan
Eraslan claimed that securing pay increases was but one item
on his organization's broad agenda. In the coming year,
KTOEOS would push for implementation of the education-related
sections of the 2004 Annan Plan reunification effort, which
it had supported. "We will attempt to fix the education
system in the north and win respect for teachers, who are
leaders in their communities," he continued. To do so,
KTOEOS intended to force the "Education Ministry" to consult
with the union before setting policy, singling out for
derision a recent "Ministry" decision to stove-pipe T/C
seventh-graders based solely on their performance in a single
subject.

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Can Labor Stick Together Through Social Security Debate?
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6. Faced with budget shortfalls due mainly to heavy public
sector expenditures, the Turkish Cypriot "government" is

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crafting a social security reform bill. As public sector
employees enjoy far better benefits (for lower premiums) than
their private sector cohorts, the legislation troubles unions
representing civil servants. The new system, Dev-Is's Seyis
argued, would deny certain "government" workers -- those
hired after the bill's passage -- many of the perks that
older hires enjoy. Worse, the lower benefits standard of the
private sector would become the new norm for every worker.


7. On March 26, 18 unions, criticized the bill as drafted.
Seyis publicly called it "a local example of global,
neoliberal impositions on the world's laborers." Many other
union reps agreed, pointing a finger at critical IMF and
World Bank reports on the north's economy and welfare net.
Some labor leaders accused the "once unionist and formerly
socialist CTP" of bowing to capital. Public debate has
become heated, and labor's mantra against the proposed system
-- "higher premiums, for more years, for less retirement
benefits" -- appears to have driven the CTP "administration"
to the negotiations table.


8. The "government" eventually concluded that the bill would
not pass as-is, Seyis gloated at a late-March meeting.
"While it is too early to tell, at least the bill is now open
to discussion." Seyis had met with the "Ministry of Labor"
three times to negotiate changes, he claimed, and he was
certain other labor leaders had lobbied also.


9. In an early April meeting, however, Seyis's bravado had
disappeared, as the "government's" own outreach effort had
swayed some unions to its side. Further, he admitted that
the current pension system was not sustainable, and revealed
that Dev-Is had conceded to an increase in the retirement
age, comforted by the fact that only new hires would be
adversely effected. "We are not rejecting the CTP's bill
outright," Seyis asserted, although his federation could
never accept its more egregious components. He surmised
that more nationalistic unions would continue to oppose the
"government" bill, however, not for economic reasons but in
hopes of weakening the CTP politically.

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Shut Out
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10. For obvious reasons, all Turkish Cypriot labor leaders
consulted were aiming to unionize additional workers. While
most public sector employees already enjoyed formal workforce
representation, the organization rate of the private sector,
where most growth in employment had occurred, was far lower.
Northern Cyprus's private universities -- ranking behind only
tourism as a contributor to GDP -- were irresistible targets
for unions and federations. None, though, were exactly
welcoming organized labor's efforts, they reported. Ismail
Ozbaris, of private sector union Emek-Is, seethed over five
Cyprus International University employees being fired in the
last three weeks for attempting to organize workers. Another
sector booming in the T/C area, construction, also has
attracted labor's interest, with both Dev-Is and Hur-Is
leading the charge. Both organizations have complained over
the lack of legal protections afforded their representatives
while attempting to recruit workers, unfortunately.


11. Organized labor was divided over the current
"government's" treatment of unions and federations.
DAU-Bir-Sen's Yoldas lamented that the CTP had abandoned its
pro-union leanings in its move to the middle. Conversely,
Dev-Is leader Seyis took the "glass half-full" approach,
claiming the current T/C leadership represented a huge
improvement over its predecessors. Earlier National Unity
Party (UBP) "governments" would have ordered police or
contract thugs to beat up striking workers, he asserted. All
union reps criticized the CTP "government" for its support of
the business class, however. Seyis fretted that "Prime
Minister" Ferdi Soyer, "Labor Minister" Sonay Adem and
"Transportation Minister" Salih Usar were at one time all
part of Dev-Is's leadership, and yet they rarely sought now
his opinions at decision time. Soyer and his team maintained
a formal, and even distant, relationship with union leaders,
hearing their positions only at official meetings.

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Bosses Offer Political Predictions
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12. Labor leaders asserted that their accumulated

NICOSIA 00000365 003 OF 003


frustrations and disappointments with the CTP mandated a
re-evaluation of their support for the ruling party before
the next general elections, scheduled for 2010. Even
Dev-Is's Seyis admitted "some anger" on the part of his
members, although he argued that they had few political
alternatives. He predicted weak party discipline at the
polls and high absenteeism in response. On the other hand,
Hur-Is leader Andic predicted an electoral freefall for the
CTP, claiming that unions now saw opposition UBP as
friendlier to labor causes and more deserving of their 7,200
members' votes.


13. Most striking were the political predictions of the
education sector union leaders -- KTOEOS' Eraslan,
DAU-Bir-Sen's Yoldas, and DAU-Per-Sen's Akar. The 2,600
workers they represent had grown strident in their opposition
to the CTP, perhaps because their unmet expectations of
"government" support had been so high. All told us that, not
only would their unions call for CTP's defeat in the next
elections, but individual members would strive to unseat the
"government." None chose to elaborate on the thinly-veiled
threats.

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Comment
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14. T/C unions likely licked their chops when the formerly
communist CTP won "government" control in 2005, believing
Soyer and his lot would reward organized labor mightily for
its electoral support. Like any "ruling" party, however, the
CTP has had to prioritize, leaving many demands, including
the unions', unmet. Labor groups, even those historically at
each others' throats over ideology, have responded by forming
alliances of convenience to battle the "government" for cost
of living adjustments, salaries and other benefits. We doubt
their united front will prove durable for two reasons.
Employing the power of the purse, we expect the "government"
to make tactical concessions where it sees fit --
divide-and-conquer at its purest. And while the unions can
bury ideological differences short-term, traditional enmity
dies hard. As to predictions of an early CTP fall from
"government," the unions' assertions hardly constitute news,
since the T/C opposition and many in media have forecast
coming instability for months. Most attribute the predicted
CTP downfall to inability to deliver on its pro-solution
agenda, however, not to the party's record on satisfying its
organized labor base.

SCHLICHER