Civil servants go on 24-hour strike today to warn government

The strike was jointly organized by the Turkish Public Workers' Labor Union (Kamu-Sen) and the Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions (KESK). The Public Enterprises and Employers Union (Kamu-İş), the Independent Public Workers' Union (BASK) and the Confederation of Public Workers' Rights Labor Union (HAKSEN) will also participate in the strike, which is supported by the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (Türk-İş), the Confederation of Revolutionary Workers' Unions (DİSK) and trade unions such as Turkish Doctors Union (TTB) and the Turkish Union of Engineers and Architects' Chambers (TMMOB).

The only civil servant union that announced that it would not participate in the one-day strike is the Civil Servants’ Trade Union (Memur-Sen). The groups participating in the strike, which combined have roughly 630,000 members, have called on every civil servant, whether a member of a union or not, to participate in today’s strike.

The one-day strike is expected to disrupt various public services especially in the areas of public transportation, education, health and finance. The administration of the confederations that will participate asked people to show patience if any possible disruption to public services occurred, announcing that the strike also aimed at securing higher quality public services for free. They also asked people to support the strike by not sending their children to school and by trying not to go to hospitals for non-emergency situations.

The civil servant confederations’ main demand is for civil servants to have the right to be a member of a union, to go on strike and to engage in collective bargaining. Confederations contend that the government always made the final decision during previous collective bargaining sessions and that this had led to the growth of problems which have been accumulating for years.

Erdoğan: Going on strike is illegal

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned civil servants on Monday to not commit an illegal act. “This action is not legal. [If they participate in the strike] then they will have to bear the consequences,” he said. Legally, civil servants do not have the right to strike for any reason, and such an action is grounds for dismissal.

Asked whether the government has a plan to make an amendment to grant civil servants the right to participate in strikes, Erdoğan noted that Turkey is a state of law and that every citizen is free to exercise his/her rights; however, the prime minister added that this labor action is illegal. The issues should be solved through talks, and the government will take action according to the decisions made during talks, he said.

As a response to Erdoğan’s assessments, KESK General Director Sami Evren stated that they did not expect the prime minister to understand the concerns of civil servants. “It is not legal to use state authority to threaten a democratic act. It is the prime minister who does not comply with international agreements and Article 90 of the Turkish Constitution.”