Renault Workers İn Turkey End Protests

French car giant Renault said on May 27 that a labor dispute over wages and working conditions, which halted operations at its factory in the northwestern province of Bursa, has ended following an agreement with the protesters.

"We hope this agreement will put an end to a period that has caused trouble for the automotive sector" Oyak Renault, a joint venture between Renault and Oyak, the army pension fund, said in a statement.

It noted that operations at the factory had resumed as of the morning of May 27.

The company said it will pay workers a lump sum of 1,000 Turkish Liras ($370) in one week and complete a study into improving pay conditions within one month. The top management has also agreed to grant workers a performance-based annual cash bonus.

Most importantly, no protesting workers will face legal or disciplinary action because of the strike, the company said.

The labor dispute started on May 14 in the Oyak Renault factory and Tofaş, owned by Italy's Fiat and Turkey's Koç Holding in Bursa, before spreading to other carmakers, including Ford's Turkish unit, Ford Otosan, and several auto part makers.

In most of the factories, production has been resumed following a similar deal between the employers and the workers, except at Ford Otosan's İnönü factory in the Central Anatolian province of Eskişehir.

Ford Otosan's top management called for the workers to end the protests in a statement late on May 26. - Istanbul