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More than 100 mine workers affiliated with the Independent Mine Workers Union gather outside Türkiye's Energy and Natural Resources Ministry in Ankara.
The workers, employed by Doruk Mining, completed a nine-day march from Eskisehir to demand unpaid wages, severance and notice payments, and solutions for colleagues placed on unpaid leave or dismissed without compensation.
The march begins at the Eskisehir-Ankara border, where workers set off on foot toward the capital.
The group, representing Doruk Mining employees, walked for nine days to bring their complaints straight to the ministry. They say this long journey shows how desperate they have become after months of trying and failing to solve their problems in other ways.
On the ninth day of their march, police stop the workers as they approach the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry.
The intervention temporarily halts the column of miners before they reach the ministry building.
Despite being blocked, the workers do not disperse. They remain at the site, insisting they will not leave until their demands are heard by ministry officials.
Outside the ministry, workers discuss a long-standing problem that dates back to last year. Some say they have not earned any income for 4.5 months.
One worker asks what happens to a family that goes so long without pay. In a clear protest slogan, workers say they work 29 days to satisfy the employer and want just one day, payday, for themselves.
Workers gather outside the ministry and recount a pattern of repeated attempts to resolve their situation — trips to parliament, previous protests, and appeals that they say went unanswered.
Union lawyer Abdurrahim Demiryurek says the group has staged more than 20 protests without receiving their rights and has been misled on multiple occasions.
The workers describe the march as a last resort after exhausting every other avenue.
The protest escalates as workers begin a hunger strike outside the ministry. Sitting on the ground without shirts, the miners shout that they are hungry, poor, and stripped bare, striking their helmets against the ground.
This marks a deliberate shift from spoken demands to a physical demonstration, placing their bodies at the center of the protest.
Workers shift from chanting to what they call silent resistance. They write protest messages in purple paint across their backs, turning their bodies into banners visible to passersby and cameras.
This transition signals a new phase of the demonstration, as the workers communicate their grievances without words, allowing the painted text to speak for them.
Police detain 110 miners after they reach the area outside the Turkish ministry. After their release, workers Cakir and Aksu return to the protest site.
Cakir states that the workers face danger underground and fear losing their livelihoods above ground.
He urges politicians to intervene directly with employers and ministry officials.
Union representative Cakir outlines the group's demands to Cumhuriyet: dismissed workers must be reinstated, those on unpaid leave must have their status resolved, and all workers owed severance or notice compensation must be paid, with some having gone five months without wages.
He states that the workers will remain outside the ministry until their demands are met and will not leave until they receive what they are owed.
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