The civil servants, who wanted to compensate for the meltdown in the purchasing power of civil servants after the increase in the minimum wage, demanded that the additional increase wages be reflected in their salaries in January 2022. Worker retirees, on the other hand, demanded that the lowest pension be increased to the minimum wage level and that other pensions be increased by 50 percent.
After the 50 percent increase in the minimum wage, civil servants and worker retirees also shared their demands. While the civil servants demanded the implementation of 3600 additional indicators as soon as possible and an additional raise for the civil servants, the worker retirees called for the lowest pension to be withdrawn to the minimum wage level and for the loss of pensions to be made equal increase.
“ACTION MUST BE TAKEN FOR ADDITIONAL INCREASE”
The ‘Memur-Sen’ Confederation, wants the will which realized the increase in workers’ wage to be shown among civil servants, said, “the extraordinary situation arising from the exchange rate and inflation that emerged after the 6th Collective Agreement negotiations, reduced the purchasing power of civil servants and retirees. The unexpected fluctuation in the economy should not overshadow our 6th Term Collective Agreement gains; action should be taken as soon as possible for the Additional Protocol, which includes an additional raise/additional payment.” In the statement made by the Confederation, only an additional raise is not requested. Demanding the easing of the income tax burden, the implementation of 3600 additional indicators and the recruitment of contracted personnel, ‘Memur-Sen’ called for the negotiations on the subject to be started as soon as possible.
“MILLIONS RETIREES TRY TO LIVE BELOW THE HUNGER LIMIT”
Another demand for a raise came from retirees. Kazım Ergün, Chairman of the Retired People's Association of Turkey (TÜED), noted that millions of retirees are trying to maintain their lives with a monthly salary of 1,500 Turkish Liras (TL) and they struggle for a difficult life, under conditions where the poverty line is 10,000 TL and the hunger limit is 3,000 TL. Ergün, who called for equalization between minimum pension and minimum wage, said, “There should be an increase of at least 50 percent in other monthly salaries. Contrary to the inflation figures of Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), the increase in the minimum wage is an acknowledgment of the inflation actually felt. Therefore, with an increase at least in this rate, the losses in the purchasing power of our pensioners, widows and orphans should be replaced.”