DİSK Chairman Arzu Çerkezoğlu spoke in Bursa at the fifth of the Workers' Meetings organized with the slogan "Justice in Income, Taxes and the Country".
Stating that they met with workers in Bursa after Kadıköy, Bakırköy, Tekirdağ and Edirne, Çerkezoğlu said that the meetings will continue in Eskişehir, Çanakkale and Balıkesir.
Stating that high inflation and tax policies erode the incomes of employees, Çerkezoğlu reacted to the determination of wage increases according to the target inflation.
Çerkezoğlu said, "We cannot make ends meet. Our wages are melting every day. We are becoming poorer every day because of our purchasing power, which is decreasing every day in the face of high inflation."
REACTION TO THE TAX SYSTEM
Arguing that the burden of the tax system in Turkey is largely left on the employees, Çerkezoğlu drew attention to the share of indirect taxes in total tax revenues.
Çerkezoğlu said, "The entire tax burden is on the worker, the laborer and the people. The indirect tax, which is the most unfair tax, reached 65 percent of the state's total tax revenues."
Stating that the net income of wage earners decreased due to their entry into the upper tax brackets during the year, Çerkezoğlu requested that capital, rent and wealth be taxed more.
'UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE FUND BELONGS THE WORKERS'
One of the prominent topics in Çerkezoğlu's speech was the Unemployment Insurance Fund.
Arguing that fund resources are increasingly directed to employers and different public financing instruments instead of unemployed employees, Çerkezoğlu claimed that the amount paid to workers from the fund since 2023 has remained at the level of half of the resources transferred to capital.
Çerkezoğlu said:
Unemployment Insurance Fund belongs to workers, unemployed workers. We say stop its misuse and transfer to employers.
Çerkezoğlu, who also reacted to the use of fund resources in public borrowing, demanded more transparency in the use of resources.
DISK-AR: WAGE LOSS EXCEEDED 2.2 TRILLION TL
Çerkezoğlu also touched upon the data in the October Wage Loss Monitoring Report of DİSK Research Center (DİSK-AR).
Stating that, according to the report, the nine-month total effect of inflation and taxes on workers' wages reached at least 2 trillion 254 billion TL, Çerkezoğlu said that the cumulative loss in the wages of insured workers due to inflation alone was 1 trillion 223 billion TL.
Stating that the minimum wage lost 6 thousand 828 TL in value in the ninth month of the year, Çerkezoğlu argued that workers spent at least half of September 2026 working on taxes, deductions and inflation.
MENTIONED THE FUNDING CRISIS
Çerkezoğlu also touched upon the funding crisis in the capital markets and argued that the control mechanisms were insufficient.
Stating that the amounts that a minimum wage earner could earn in thousands of years were achieved in a short time, Çerkezoğlu said:
“Imagine that a handful of people can earn the income that a minimum wage earner can earn by working non-stop for 6 thousand years, by getting funding from their homes in 4 months.”
Çerkezoğlu stated that inspection and responsibility mechanisms should be strengthened.
CRITICISM ON 2027 BUDGET
Touching on the 2027 budget to be presented to the Parliament, Çerkezoğlu argued that budget choices deepen inequalities in income distribution.
Çerkezoğlu said, "There is capital in the budget, capital has demands, capital has interests, but there are no workers, no laborers, no retirees, no people."
Drawing attention to the share allocated to interest expenditures in the budget, Çerkezoğlu said that wage earners and retirees should receive a larger share of the national income increase.
'WE WANT OUR SHARE OF GROWTH'
Stating that all wages, especially the minimum wage, should be increased, Çerkezoğlu opposed determining wage increases only according to the targeted inflation.
Çerkezoğlu said, "If this country is growing, it is growing with our sweat, we want our share of growth, we want our rights, we do not want alms from anyone."
Stating that they demand justice in taxes, Çerkezoğlu said that less tax should be collected from those who earn less and more taxes should be collected from those who earn more.
CALL FOR MINIMUM WAGE FOR THE LOWEST PENSION
Çerkezoğlu also touched upon the problems in the retirement system.
Stating that the demands of those who demand gradual retirement and those who are victims of internship and apprenticeship insurance should be met, Çerkezoğlu requested that the lowest pension be increased to at least the minimum wage level.
Çerkezoğlu, who argued that the current practice of increasing the lowest pension through supplementation from the Treasury should be ended, called for an increase in all pensions.
SEVERANCE PAY AND FLEXIBLE WORKING WARNING
Çerkezoğlu also reacted to the flexible working arrangements included in the Medium Term Program.
Arguing that the widespread use of flexible working styles poses a risk in terms of severance pay and other labor rights, Çerkezoğlu demanded that the obstacles to unionization and organization be removed.
'DEMOCRACY IS THE WORKERS' BREAD'
Çerkezoğlu stated that economic demands and the struggle for democracy cannot be considered separately from each other.
Çerkezoğlu said, “Democracy is the bread of the worker”; He expressed his demands regarding the right to vote and be elected, freedom of expression, freedom of the press and the right to unionize.
Çerkezoğlu stated that they will continue the workers' meetings organized to demand "Justice in income, taxes and in the country" in different cities of Turkey.
