Minister Işıkhan's statement on the cancellation of the collective bargaining bonus: 'Our nation is accustomed to this attitude from the CHP'

Minister of Labor and Social Security Vedat Işıkhan, recalling that the CHP had applied to the Constitutional Court for the cancellation of the collective bargaining bonus in the 7th Term Public Collective Bargaining Agreement, stated, "Unfortunately, the regulation regarding this payment was cancelled by the Constitutional Court as of yesterday."

Işıkhan noted the following:

"As you know, our civil servants have achieved significant gains through the collective bargaining agreements we signed together. The collective bargaining bonus is one of these gains. Most recently, with the 7th Term Public Collective Bargaining Agreement last year, the collective bargaining bonus for our civil servants was determined as the amount obtained by multiplying the monthly indicator figure of 707 by the civil servant monthly coefficient. Accordingly, we were paying 538 liras per month to members of unions that registered at least 2 percent of the total number of public officials in their service branch as members."

"THERE WILL BE A DECREASE OF 345 LIRAS"

More than 2 million of our civil servants were benefiting from this payment. However, the Republican People's Party (CHP) took this important collective bargaining gain of our civil servants to the Constitutional Court. Unfortunately, the regulation regarding this payment was cancelled by the Constitutional Court as of yesterday. It is the CHP that applied to the Constitutional Court for the cancellation of the relevant regulation and caused the cancellation of the payment. With this cancellation decision, there will unfortunately be a decrease of 345 liras in the monthly salaries of more than 2 million of our public officials who benefit from the bonus."

"OUR NATION IS ACCUSTOMED TO THIS ATTITUDE FROM THE CHP"

Recalling that the CHP had previously taken the collective bargaining premium paid to union-member public officials to the Constitutional Court and had it cancelled, Işıkhan spoke as follows:

"It is an extremely incomprehensible attitude for the CHP mentality to have the rights that our civil servants gained through the collective bargaining agreement we signed together cancelled. But our nation is accustomed to this attitude from the CHP. The CHP, which previously had scholarships given to students cancelled and had the collective bargaining premium of civil servants cancelled, has now had the collective bargaining bonus, which is a gain for our laborers, cancelled. While we, as the government, improve the rights of our civil servants both through collective bargaining agreements and other legal regulations, the CHP takes them to the Constitutional Court and has them cancelled."

''THE CHP MENTALITY UNFORTUNATELY NEVER CHANGES''

This CHP mentality, which sees every segment of society as 'exploitable' and opposes everything, unfortunately never changes. But our public officials should rest assured and know well that just as we have stood by labor and the laborer until today and achieved many gains together with our unions during the AK Party governments, we will continue to stand by our public officials, our unions, and our laborers from now on. I would like to express that we will definitely do what is necessary to take the required steps regarding this decision, which we believe is wrong."

News Source: 12punto