Swatch Faces Labor Unrest in Turkey Over 30% Wage Increase Demand

Employees of Swatch stores in shopping malls in Turkey, about a hundred of them, go on strike. The aim: to demand better wages and working conditions in general. According to Bloomberg news agency, the Swiss watch company has described their demands as “unrealistic”.

The strike was declared on November 10th in fifteen stores and at the company’s headquarters in Turkey, in Istanbul, and involves about a hundred workers. The Koop-Is union is demanding a wage increase of around 30% in the face of rising prices in Turkey. It is also demanding the introduction of bonuses and a general improvement in working conditions, including a reduction in weekly working hours.

According to the Swiss watchmaker, the demands are “high and totally exaggerated”. In response, it has offered wage increases of no more than 20% and rejected the other demands. Although wages are “slightly above the minimum wage” of 22,104 lire ($522.2 per month), employees accuse the company of working up to 12-hour days.

Swatch workers in Turkey are demanding a 30% wage increase

In the summer, Swatch announced a 5% to 10% increase in the price of its products in the United States in order to counter the impact of tariff policies imposed by President Donald Trump. In recent months, the company has seen the Chinese market plummet.

In fact, in July Swatch announced an 88.4% plunge in net profit for half of this year, standing at 3,059 million Swiss francs ($4.4 billion at exchange rates) compared to the same period last year, when it turned over 3,445 million Swiss francs ($4.33 million). Swatch recorded a net result of 17 million Swiss francs ($21.3 million).

Earlier this year, the company announced its intention to delist from the stock exchange. According to the latest information, Swatch is waiting for an investor to be privatized.

Founded in 1983 in Switzerland after the merger of the watchmaking companies Allgemeine Schweizerische Uhrenindustrie AG (Asuag) and Société Suisse pour l’industrie Horlogère (Sssuag), and renamed Swatch two years later, the company is the world’s largest watchmaking group. In its brand portfolio, the group includes brands ranging from the luxury segment such as Omega, Longines or Breguet, to retail brands such as the eponymous Swatch or Filkflak.