Yunus Değirmenci, Deputy Chairman of ‘Hak-İş’ Labour Union Confederation and Chairman of ‘Özçelik-İş’ Union, who made evaluations about the inflation and cost of living that has increased with the ongoing global pandemic and Russia's attack on Ukraine for the last two years, emphasized that the workers could not afford themselves as a result of the economic fluctuations. Değirmenci said, “The increases in salaries have melted away with the economic fluctuations experienced.”
“PURCHASING POWER OF WORKERS MUST BE INCREASED”
Emphasizing the increase in food and energy prices, Değirmenci by calling on employers and the government, "Today, we witness that the wage increases we get by fighting at the collective bargaining tables are unfortunately melting with the increasing inflation every day. At the moment, as workers, improving our wages and increasing our purchasing power is our top priority," he added.
“OUR EMPLOYERS SHOULD TAKE ON RESPONSIBILITY”
Emphasizing that the workers have never left their workbenches since the beginning of the pandemic, Değirmenci pointed out that they continue their work in order to minimize the losses against the economic crisis. Değirmenci said, “What we want; Receiving the fruits of our labor and hard work is nothing but offering our family a life worthy of human dignity. It would be a great injustice to the workers not to see all our sacrifices. For this reason, I invite our employers to take responsibility. We want them to know that we expect our government to encourage employers as well."
“WE WANT THE WAR TO END AS THE PANDEMIC IS OVER”
Drawing attention to the fact that the world has become difficult to live with in recent years due to wars and pandemic, “Unfortunately, we all witness together that the world we live in has turned into a place that is difficult to live in in recent years, with pandemic and wars. As if the heavy costs of the pandemic, which we are fighting for two years, were not enough, now we have almost come to the brink of a third world war. We know that, 'There is no winner in war, no loser in peace.' Today, we see that the effects of the pandemic are about to end. It is our greatest wish that the war will end as soon as possible," Değirmenci added.