"Bestseller factory involved in union dispute in Turkey", 23 December 2025

In Turkey, one of the clothing factories used by...Bestseller has come under fire because local workers accuse the factory of poor working conditions and of not paying full compensation after laying off over 900 employees.

For several weeks, protests have taken place against the Şık Makas factory in the Turkish city of Tokat in central Turkey...The factory...has supplied products to Bestseller's brands Jack and Jones and Only.

Mehmet Türkmen, president of the Birtek-Sen trade union, which supports the protesting workers, believes that the Şık Makas factory violates labour rights and that the union linked to the factory is not doing its job properly.

"There have been violations of rights, people work in slave-like conditions for the lowest wages, and employees have not been properly compensated after they have been dismissed. Bestseller and the other international brands behave as if nothing has happened despite clear, well-documented and persistent violations of human and labour rights. They help normalize violations of rights," he says.

According to the chairman, the conflict began because the factory had not paid wages to the employees for three months. The situation escalated in October when over 900 employees were fired because, according to Mehmet Türkmen, they wanted to join his union because they were dissatisfied with the union that is officially affiliated with the factory.

...according to Mehmet Türkmen, there have been problems with the working conditions at the factory in recent years, where employees have experienced irregular payment of wages, low wages, forced overtime and a lack of equality for the many female employees.

Although the factory has chosen to pay the missing wages, according to Mehmet Túrkmen, there are still employees who have not received the full compensation, and therefore the protests continue...

At Bestseller, Felicity Tapsell, Head of Responsible Sourcing, says that Bestseller is aware of the conflict at Şık Makas in Turkey.

"This is a case we are looking at with the necessary seriousness, as it is about basic labour rights and employees' claims for compensation. We expect Şık Makas to engage constructively in the dialogue with both the union and the affected employees so that their rights are respected and a sustainable solution is found. Together with other brands that have goods produced at the factory, we use our influence to support this process as much as possible and emphasize the need for a quick and fair solution," reads a written response...

The union that officially has the right to bargain at the factory rejects all the accusations made by Mehmet Türkmen and accuses his union of creating unrest among the employees.

"Their actions have risked escalating the conflict and jeopardizing jobs and production instead of contributing to sustainable and constructive solutions. Through the efforts of our union, the employer has been paid all outstanding wages to the workers of the Şık Makas factory, and the workers have full access to their legal rights, including severance pay and termination pay," reads a written response from the Öz İplik İş Sendikası trade union, informing that compensation will be paid in installments for dismissed workers during the new year.

The factory Şık Makas' Director of CSR, Yusuf Oklay, also states in a written response to Danwatch that the company complies with the standards required by the international fashion brands with which it cooperates, in the Global Framework Agreement (GFA) between multinational companies and global trade unions.

"Due to the financial challenges facing our business, there have been temporary liquidity challenges, which has led to delays in some payments. However, we would like to emphasize that the legal rights of all employees have been covered through a mutually agreed payment plan. This includes severance pay, severance pay, unused vacation, outstanding wages, and all other statutory rights. There has been no confrontation or pressure on the employees. On the contrary, we have sought to maintain a constructive and understanding environment throughout the process,"...

Mehmet Türkmen of the Birtek-Sen trade union denies that all the workers' demands have been met, and he does not understand why the factory does not have the opportunity to pay the workers full compensation at once instead of paying in installments...

...the industry has recently been under pressure due to the country's high inflation, rising interest rates, rising commodity prices and competition from the markets in Asia.

Several textile companies have reduced staff, relaxed wage payments and rights or shut down production completely. Therefore, there are generally a number of union struggles in several places in Turkey to ensure that workers' rights are respected, says Mehmet Türkmen from the Birtek-Sen trade union.

"The minimum wage in Turkey is currently far below the poverty line. Workers in the textile industry earn less than 20 percent of the amount intended to buy basic food for a family of four. In addition, many have been dismissed without receiving compensation or they have only received a very small part," he says.

Mehmet Türkmen believes that the international fashion brands have a shared responsibility for ensuring proper working conditions at the factories in Turkey.

"They have many of their products produced here, and therefore you can only expect them to help correct the injustices," he says.

[Translation via Microsoft Edge]