EL-SEN union threatens Kıb-Tek with indefinite strike after transformer explosion in Nicosia

The EL-SEN union of employees of the Kıb-Tek electricity company has threatened an indefinite strike unless management ensures staff safety and begins negotiations on a new collective agreement. The previous agreement expired back in December 2025.

The union made the announcement on October 2 at a rally outside the Kıb-Tek building. Kıb-Tek is the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)’s state-owned electricity company. The rally was prompted by a transformer explosion in Nicosia the previous day: an employee who was seriously injured remains in intensive care.

EL-SEN was backed by the Federation of Turkish Cypriot Workers’ Unions (TÜRK-SEN). Its president, Arslan Bıçaklı, recalled that eight Kıb-Tek employees had died in similar incidents in the past. He said the unions had repeatedly written to the company’s management and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security about safety violations, met with them and issued public statements, but no action had been taken.

Bıçaklı claims that employees are sent to work in hazardous areas before the power has been fully switched off and without being given enough time to prepare.

EL-SEN Secretary General Hüseyin Peksever said the accidents were the result of systemic problems and held the prime minister and the Ministry of Labour directly responsible. If the demands are not met, the union will respond “in the strongest possible terms”, up to and including an indefinite strike.