Turkish unions and opponents of prime minister Recep Erdogan have rallied by the thousands across the country, hoping to turn weeks of small-scale protests into wider discontent.
Two major unions urged their members to hold a one-day strike and join demonstrations in response to a police crackdown against activists who led a wave of protest that have centred on Istanbul’s Taksim Square and Gezi Park in recent weeks.
The show of force follows a weekend in which police moved activists from an 18-day sit-in at the park that has come to symbolise defiance against the government, while Mr Ergodan’s conservative political base held huge rallies in both Istanbul and Ankara.
In Ankara thousands of demonstrators waving union flags converged at central Kizilay Square in an uneasy face-off about 50 yards away from riot police and a line of trucks.
Behind the strikes were the KESK confederation of public sector workers and DISK, a confederation of unions from industries including transport, construction, health care and media.
Strikes, however, often have little visible impact on daily life in Turkey, a country of about 75 million.
Unionists in Istanbul hoped to reach Taksim Square but police have maintained a lockdown on it after unrest continued in pockets of the country.