Turkish labor unions rally to call for gov't actions on economic crisis

Thousands of workers and public laborers participated in the rally titled "We Will Not Pay the Price of the Crisis: Labor and Democracy Rally for a Joint Fight Against Unemployment and Poverty" in the Kadikoy district on the Anatolian side of Istanbul. Â

The demonstration is organized by labor unions, including The Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (Turk-Is), The Confederation of Public Sector Unions (KESK) and the Confederation of Revolutionary Workers’ Unions (DISK), and supported by vocational organizations.

Along with other emerging and developed countries the pace of layoffs in Turkey rose as the country's export decreased and growth rate slowed due to a downturn in the global economy.

Jobless claim numbers in Turkey rose 95 percent with 151,530 more people looking for work in January according to recently released figures.

Turkey's estimated unemployment rate increased to 10.9 percent in the three months to the end of November from 9.7 in the same period last year with the number of the unemployed increased 385,000 to 2,687,000.

High unemployment rate remain a major challenge for the Turkish government despite several years of strong growth in the wake of two severe financial crises in 1999 and 2001.

Photo is an archive image.