Workers and union officials detained in protest against union busting dismissal

A group of warehouse workers dismissed over union activity by Turkey's foreign-owned leading e-commerce company were detained on Tuesday when they staged a protest sit-in outside the company's headquarters in Istanbul, Mezopotamya News Agency (MA) reported.

The workers were recently discharged by employer Trendyol, a company whose majority stakes are held by Chinese multinational technology and e-commerce giant Alibaba.

The group gathered before Trendyol's offices in Istanbul's Maslak neighborhood to read out a public statement, then attempted to start a sit in action.

That was when the police intervened, encircling the group and detaining 15 protesters and union officials, including Neslihan Acar, the chairwoman of the Union of Warehouse, Port, Shipyard and Marine Workers, and Suleyman Sen, the chairman of the union of subcontracted parcel delivery workers.

It has not yet been disclosed by the police where the detainees were taken to, MA said.