"Hak-İş" Confederation Chairman Mahmut Arslan, who met with a group of journalists in Kahramanmaraş, made evaluations about the public collective bargaining negotiations on the agenda and the wage policies applied in workplaces in the earthquake zone.
Hak-İş Chairman Mahmut Arslan stated that the ongoing public collective bargaining negotiations regarding public sector workers should be concluded before May 14.
"People have been in serious distress since January 1, some since March. Wages have melted, inflation is falling, but prices are not. As time passes, the expectation increases and the victimization increases," Arslan said.
While a new proposal was expected from the government wing in the collective bargaining negotiations involving public sector workers, "Hak-İş" Chairman Mahmut Arslan stated that the contract should be finalized before the election.
Recalling his last meeting with Vedat Bilgin, Minister of Labor, Arslan said, "We definitely need to finish this job before May 14. People have been in serious distress since January 1, some since March. Wages have melted, inflation is falling, but prices are not. This is seriously tiring us. As time passes, the expectation increases and the victimization increases. The Minister is also aware of this."
Hak-İş President Arslan stated that the problems experienced in the personnel rights of the subcontracted workers, who were signed into the protocol in the 2021 public collective bargaining process and recruited in the SEEs, could not be resolved.
Noting that new appointments could not be made, especially due to the cancellation of vacancies in ÇAYKUR and sugar factories, Arslan stated that they demanded a regulation in this regard as well.
“LOW WAGE IN THE EARTHQUAKE REGION TAKES WORKERS AWAY FROM WORKING”
Arslan stated that the problem in the workforce continues in Kahramanmaraş, Hatay and Adıyaman in the earthquake region.
"Employers invite them, but it is not attractive to the worker. Now the man who will enter textiles pays the minimum wage. He works 10 hours like a slave, so what the employer has to do is increase the wages. If the minimum wage is doubled in the coal sector and mining sector, such a thing can be done in the region, otherwise the workers will be in a difficult situation," Arslan added.