Gönül Boran Özüpak, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Retirement Age Victims (EYT) Federation, met with the members of the EYT federation in Kadıköy yesterday and held a press release for the 23rd anniversary of the victimization. Özüpak said, “It has been 23 years since the law that caused the victims of retirement age. The retrospective application of some provisions of the Law No. 4447, which was enacted on September 8, 1999, contrary to the rules of universal law, revealed the age requirement for retirement. While the current retirement conditions are our vested rights, the application of the age requirement added as a third condition to the past is unjust and contrary to the principle of equality.” Members of EYT voiced their demands in unison by shouting slogans such as ‘EYT without formula’ and ‘We want solution without formula’.
Gönül Boran Özüpak, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the EYT Federation, met with the members of the EYT Federation yesterday on the anniversary of their grievances and made a press statement. The press release was followed with great interest by members of the media. Members of EYT voiced their demands by shouting slogans such as #formülsüzeyt, #formülsüzçözümistiyoruz. Gönül Boran Özüpak, Chairman of the Board of EYT Federation, stated that the age requirement is against the principle of equality, “23 years have passed since the law that caused the victimization of those who are old enough to retire. The retrospective application of some provisions of the Law No. 4447, which was enacted on September 8, 1999, contrary to the rules of universal law, revealed the age requirement for retirement. While the current retirement conditions are our vested rights, applying the age requirement added as a third condition to the past is unfair and contrary to the principle of equality. This situation has been regulated in a way that disregards the predictable principle of laws. Our struggle, which started as a handful of EYT members, turned into a mass struggle. When we look at it today, it is a situation accepted by non-governmental organizations and parties that the EYT problem is a social problem that needs to be solved as soon as possible,” she added.
“WE ARE WORKERS WHO HAVE FULFILLED THEIR PREMIUM PAYMENT DAYS”
Stating that they want to use their constitutional rights, Özüpak stated that they faced many negative situations and said, “We faced a lot of negativity from the very beginning. We have been labeled with various adjectives by those who have no knowledge and are equipped with wrong and incomplete information. It has been suggested that we want to retire at a young age. We were presented to the public as those who demanded early retirement. However, we did not ask for any favor or charity from anyone. We fought for our constitutional right to retirement, as stated in Article 60 of our constitution, ‘Everyone has the right to social security.’ We are workers who have exceeded the working hours and insurance premium payment days demanded by the law, and even come close to fulfilling 2-3 times more.”
“THERE WERE TIMES WHEN WE WERE ACCUSED OF TREASON”
Underlining that EYT members face false charges when they want to seek their rights, “By being forced to stay in working life for the longest time in the history of the Republic; we are a generation that provides added value and support to the state for the longest time, with both our insurance premiums deducted from our salaries and the income taxes we pay. Despite all our efforts, there were times when we were accused of treason. When the EYT issue comes to the fore, we are exposed to statements such as early retirement, vacancies, foam, a burden on the budget, and double stitching. We can't even describe how hurt we were and stigmatized with these baseless accusations, when the existence of bureaucrats who were paid 5-10 stitches with salaries with plenty of zeros that we couldn't even dream of, came to light." Özüpak added.