Worker silence in a turbulent neoliberal context: The case of mass privatisation of sugar factories in Turkey

Abstract

Silence in the context of work has different meanings across different settings. Turbulence induced by the privatisation of previously state‐owned enterprises presents a curious setting to explore worker silence. Turning to worker silence in the process of mass privatisation of sugar factories in Turkey, we examine why workers remained silent while resenting privatisation. We reflect on the experiences and perceptions of workers in the privatisation of sugar factories in an unregulated neoliberal country, where macro‐national and meso‐institutional mechanisms enforce worker silence Drawing on 48 interviews with workers from sugar factories, we demonstrate that worker silence deepened in the process of privatisation. The study provides evidence that an unregulated form of neoliberalism worsens worker silence through three distinct mechanisms: dismissal of democratic demands, marketisation of everything and decline of solidarity. We extend these mechanisms with 13 different corresponding forms.

Institutional suicide as anomie: decedents speak out for work-related suicides through a Durkheimian exploration of suicide notes in a context without institutional responsibilization for suicide prevention

“…Turkey provides a worrying example as a country where neoliberalism is practiced without mechanisms of responsibilization ( Kusku et al, 2021 , 2022 ). Consequently, the Turkish experience of neoliberalism has exposed workers to excesses of insecurity, indignity, precarity and inequality without an institutional mechanism of safety ( Camgoz et al, 2023 ; Erbil and Özbilgin, 2023 ). Neoliberal policies have disproportionately impoverished minority populations and, therefore, must be considered a possible factor influencing suicide rates (Zeira, 2022).…”

“…Neoliberal policies have disproportionately impoverished minority populations and, therefore, must be considered a possible factor influencing suicide rates (Zeira, 2022). Turkey’s economic liberalization project dates back to the 1960s, and the neoliberalization effort goes back to the 1980s ( Erbil and Özbilgin, 2023 ). While the neoliberal project denigrated the meaning and purpose of all public sector organizations, shifting them toward private sector logic, it has also hit social and workplace protections in Turkey that provided safety nets to individuals, exposing them to precarity, indignity at work and widening income gaps.…”

“…Similarly, in the public sector, Özbilgin et al (2019) reported that ingration and sucking up behaviors are normalized at work. Overall, in the period of neoliberal expansion, Camgoz et al (2023) and Erbil and Özbilgin (2023) note that worker silence in the face of declining working conditions is endorsed, normalized and brutally enforced. The institutional and cultural transformation of working lives contribute to further dehumanization and misrecognition for workers from marginalized backgrounds.…”