A meeting titled "Future Perspective in Collective Agreement Processes, Green Transformation and the Future of Working Life" was held by the Turkish Heavy Industry and Service Sector Public Employers' Union (TÜHİS) in a hotel in Ankara.
Speaking here, Minister Işıkhan stated that social dialogue is the basis of identifying problems together, developing solutions together and looking to the common future with confidence.
Işıkhan said, "Collective agreements are one of the strongest reflections of this understanding in working life. At the collective agreement table, the compensation for the labor of our employees, the welfare of their families, the future of workplaces and the continuity of production are discussed. Every compromise reached at this table makes significant contributions to our labor peace and social solidarity." made his assessment.
Underlining that today they have to carry this deep-rooted reconciliation mechanism into the future, taking into account the needs of the changing world, Işıkhan said:
"Climate change, green transformation and digitalization change production processes, trade relations, professions and working conditions together. As our businesses turn to production using less energy and resources, the duties of our employees and the skills they need are also transforming. The change in technology used in a factory directly affects the training needs, work organization, professional qualifications and occupational health and safety measures in that workplace."
Minister Işıkhan stated that renewable energy, energy efficiency, circular economy and clean production technologies create new job areas.
Noting that opportunities for transition to higher value-added production and more qualified employment have emerged in existing sectors, Işıkhan continued his words as follows:
"However, we are aware that not every employee and every business can prepare for this change in the same way. It takes time and support for an employee who has done the same job for many years to adapt to a new technology, for a business specialized in a certain field of production to transform its activities, or for a region whose economy is based on a single sector to turn to new investments. Our responsibility is to foresee these needs and make the necessary preparations together with our social partners."
Işıkhan stated that their goal is to reduce the risks of job and income loss for employees, improve the adaptation capacity of businesses, and strengthen access to new employment opportunities while expanding the opportunities offered by the transformation.
Emphasizing that they carried this understanding into a holistic policy framework with the National Just Transition Strategy and 2027-2029 Action Plan prepared by the Ministry, Işıkhan said:
"We brought together the contributions of our public institutions, employee and employer organizations, universities, professional organizations and other stakeholders on a common ground. In our strategy, we discussed together the determination of the effects of the transformation on employment, the acquisition of new skills by our employees, the strengthening of social protection and the development of new job opportunities. Now, we have the responsibility of bringing this policy framework together with the needs of sectors and workplaces."
Minister Işıkhan pointed out the importance of sharing timely information about planned technological changes in workplaces and their possible effects on employees, and said that vocational training and lifelong learning opportunities should be included more in the collective bargaining agenda.
Stating that İŞKUR's vocational training and on-the-job training opportunities will contribute to employees gaining new skills, Işıkhan gave information about the work carried out within the scope of the Workforce Adaptation Program (WUP).
Işıkhan stated that under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, they have facilitated the employment participation of job seekers, especially women, disabled citizens and young people, and continued his words as follows:
"We enable our citizens to gain skills and experience, and we make a certain payment to cover the days they participate. We pay 1375 lira per day, and 19 thousand 250 lira for 14 days of participation per month. Within the scope of the program, we allocated a new quota of 54 thousand 200 people for 81 provinces. Good luck."
Emphasizing that the needs of climate change and new technologies in terms of occupational health and safety should be closely monitored, Işıkhan pointed out that increasing temperatures and extreme weather events affect working conditions, especially in open areas.
Minister Işıkhan stated that new energy systems, batteries and different production technologies bring with them the need for new information and protective measures, and noted that evaluating workplace-specific needs, from working order to rest opportunities, from training to protective equipment, in social dialogue will strengthen safe working environments.
Stating that employees' experiences should be utilized more in resource efficiency and environmental improvement studies, Işıkhan said that employees working at every stage of production can develop important suggestions on energy saving, waste reduction and effective use of resources.
Işıkhan stated that employee and employer representatives' evaluation of these suggestions together can increase the efficiency of enterprises and the participation of employees in the process, and stated that the reflection of the increase in productivity on the welfare of employees will also support the permanence of cooperation.
Pointing out that the structure of the sectors, the opportunities of the enterprises and the needs of the employees differ, Işıkhan stated that the power of collective bargaining lies in the development of solutions suitable for these differences by the parties.
Minister Işıkhan said, "As we prepare for the future, we must also ensure that women, youth, disabled citizens and our employees who need more support in adapting to the transformation have access to opportunities." he said.
Emphasizing that preparing small and medium-sized businesses for transformation is important in terms of protecting employment, Işıkhan stated that solutions that strengthen the rights and welfare of employees should be developed in this process.
Işıkhan stated that it is necessary to produce solutions that improve the competitiveness of enterprises and strengthen the rights and welfare of employees together with social stakeholders and said, "We will be able to evaluate the success of the next period by our employees gaining new skills, the sustainable production capacity of our enterprises increasing and our youth accessing qualified jobs. We want the green transformation to turn into a strong development and employment opportunity for our country. I believe we will achieve this by protecting labor, strengthening production and deepening social dialogue." he said.
Hoping that the program would be productive, Işıkhan thanked those who contributed to the program and all participants.
Minister of Internal Affairs Mustafa Çiftçi, TÜHİS General Secretary Mehmet Baş and TÜRK-İŞ Deputy Chairman and YOL-İŞ Union Chairman Ramazan Ağar also spoke at the meeting.
After the speeches, Minister Işıkhan was given a vahid vase as a gift. Işıkhan also presented a precious vase to the Minister of Internal Affairs Çiftçi.
