Workers protest over unpaid wages, Turkey - 2025
More than 800 workers at the CRS Jeans Factory in Tokat, owned by Şık Makas – one of Turkey’s 500 largest industrial companies – went on strike on October 8 2025, stating that they had not been paid for 66 days. The workers had already stopped working on January 10, 2025, due to irregular salary payments over a six-month period. According to UMUT-SEN, an independent, grassroots socialist labor organization in Turkey, founded in 2008 (see www.umutsen.org), some workers have now begun to be dismissed without severance pay. In addition, the workers report being pressured to join the Öz İplik-İş Union, a Turkish trade union representing workers in the textile and garment sectors, which is affiliated with the Hak-İş confederation, one of Turkey’s major labor union federations. The union advocates for workers' rights, collective bargaining, and improved working conditions in the textile industry. However, the union has faced criticism from some labor activists and rival unions, who accuse it of being too close to employers and not adequately defending workers’ rights in certain factories. Several officials of the United Textile, Weaving and Leather Workers’ Union (BİRTEK-SEN) set out for Tokat to show solidarity with the workers. However, shortly after it was announced that the union would meet with the workers, the Tokat Governor’s Office issued a three-day ban on demonstrations, marches, and public gatherings. Despite all obstacles, the workers gathered in front of the factory and decided to continue their resistance until all dismissed colleagues are reinstated. Founded in 1939 in Adapazarı, Şık Makas Giyim Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. is one of Turkey’s largest textile and denim manufacturers. Headquartered in Istanbul, the company specializes in denim (jeans) production and manufactures for both the domestic and international markets under its own brand, Cross Jeans. Şık Makas operates three production facilities in Çorlu (Tekirdağ), the Tokat Organized Industrial Zone, and Port Said in Egypt. According to its official website, the company exports approximately 20 million denim products annually. The company employs 4,710 people across various textile factories throughout Turkey. In the Open Supply Hub, the Çorlu factory, which is located in a district of Istanbul, and its clients are listed. The strike, however, took place at the Tokat factory in the northeast of Turkey. Although these are two different units, the responsibility for the grievances lies with the parent company. The clients mentioned below can exert influence on this parent company as customers, even if they do not source directly from the affected factory.
Basic Information
Case ID: 2025.016
Identification Number from Open Supply Hub (OS-ID): TR2022007WV4C71
Affected Country: Turkey
Date of occurrence: 2025-10-08
Social Sector Risks concerned:
- Wages (Conventions Nr. 26 & 102 & 131 & 177 & 181; FAO)
Supplier Details
Şık Makas Giyim Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş.
15 Temmuz Mah, 1507. Sokak No:5, 34270 Bağcılar/İstanbul
Turkey
Supplier Website: https://sikmakas.com.tr/en
Production Site
Tokat Factory
O.S.B. 2.Kısım ,Recep Yazıcıoğlu Bulvarı, No: 34/12 Merkez-Tokat
Turkey
Known certifications:
Source of information about certifications:
https://opensupplyhub.org/facilities/TR2022007WV4C71
No gender specific information available.
Workers movement
No information about unions available.
No information about workers commitee available.
Business Relations
Known Buyer/Brands:
- Bestseller A/S
- H&M Hennes & Mauritz B.V. & Co. KG
- Mango Deutschland GmbH
- New Look Retailers
- Primark Limited
- Ralph Lauren Corporation
- River Island Holdings Limited
- The GAP Inc.
- The Very Group
- Varner AS
- Zalando SE
According to supplier lists from brands (years 2024 or 2025) on Open Supply Hub
Further information about buyer's sources:
It is not known, whether at least one of the buyers has the duty to report according to the Supply Chain Act / CSDDD.
Follow up
Sources
Name of reporting organisation: Bianet.org
Bianet (short for Bağımsız İletişim Ağı, meaning Independent Communication Network) is a Turkey-based independent news platform that publishes in Turkish, English, and Kurdish. It focuses on human rights, freedom of expression, gender equality, and social justice. Bianet provides alternative journalism that amplifies marginalized voices and monitors press freedom and rights violations in Turkey. The platform is part of the IPS Communication Foundation and receives support from international organizations such as the European Commission and SIDA (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency). It also offers training programs for journalists and produces rights-based media content for local outlets. (see https://bianet.org/about-us)
Source of information about the case:
https://bianet.org/haber/isciler-tokat-valiliginin-yasak-kararini-tanimadi-direnise-devam-312384
Contributor: SÜDWIND
- Last updated on .