Dersaadet Tramway Workers Strıke (26 January-7 February 1922)

Abstract

The strike which came out between 26 January-7 February 1922 by the workers of Dersaadet Tramway Company started when the demands for working conditions which were put forward since 1920 were not accepted by the company. The strike in which Turkey Socialist Party played effective role caused disruption in transportation for a period of time and financial damage of Tramway Company. In this process, there were various attempts of Allied Powers and government for coming to an agreement. Yet these attempts were inconclusive since the Tramway Company insisted that the workers should start working depending on no condition. While the company started to solve transportation problem in time especially by hiring external personnel, the efforts of workers for extending the strike would be unsuccessful. All these events would cause disagreement among striker workers and result in blaming their representative with infidelity. The strike would end when reconciliation efforts of the new worker representatives were inconclusive and strikers started working renounced all their demands. In this study, Dersaadet Tramway Workers Strike which is one of the important strike events of the period is analyzed within the scope of its reasons, development and results.