Turkish rubber workers strike

BRUSSELS, Belgium (May 1)—A large portion of tire industry workers in Turkey went on strike April 28 after six-month negotiations with companies failed to produce a new contract through 2001, according to the Brussels-based International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers´ Unions. The companies, which include Goodyear, Pirelli S.p.A. and Bridgestone Corp., are offering the 5,000 workers a 22-percent pay increase for the first half of 2000, a 6-percent raise in the second half, plus additional payments this year and in 2001. Turkey´s steep cost-of-living rise, including an inflation rate of 68.8 percent, makes the offer unacceptable, said Lastik-Is, the Turkish rubber workers union.