Home > Current Affairs News > Agreement signed in contract negotiations between Birleşik Metal-İş and MESS: 'The entire working class has won'

Agreement signed in contract negotiations between Birleşik Metal-İş and MESS: 'The entire working class has won'

The United Metal Workers' Union (Birleşik Metal-İş) announced that the 2025–2027 Group Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations with MESS concluded with an agreement as of January 21, 2026.

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While an average increase of 28.10 percent was achieved in metal workers' wages for the first 6 months, and a cumulative increase of 44.76 percent as of March 1, 2026, the average net wage will rise to 79,500 TL.

The written statement made by the union is as follows:

"The months-long MESS 2025–2027 Group Collective Bargaining Agreement process concluded with an agreement today. This result is the work of the will, determination, and organized struggle established not at the table, but in the factories. The winner is the resisting metal worker. Collective bargaining negotiations began on October 13, 2025, the fifth meeting was held on December 8, 2025, and a Dispute Minutes was recorded at this meeting. Subsequently, no result meeting the workers' demands could be obtained in the meetings held upon the calls of MESS. Upon the deadlock in the process, our Union, based on the will of the metal workers, announced strike implementation decisions for 9 factories in the first stage on January 20, to be implemented on January 30.

Today (January 21, 2026), MESS called our Union for a new meeting. Due to reaching a situation that would meet the expectations of metal workers as a result of long negotiations, our Central Executive Board, having also taken the opinion of our Central CBA Commission and our Presidents' Board, decided to sign the contract.

The agreement reached is as follows: For the first 6-month period, a completion of 10 TL/hour will be made for those whose hourly wages are below 140 TL/hour, not to exceed 140 TL/hour. Then, after a 20 percent raise is applied to all wages, a flat increase of 17.61 TL/hour will be added. This increase corresponds to an average of 28.10 percent in base wages. After March 1 (for the second 6-month period of our contract), a 13 percent raise will be applied. However, if the 6-month inflation exceeds 13 percent, the resulting inflation rate will be applied. In the third 6 months of our contract, a raise of inflation plus 1.5 points will be applied. In the fourth 6-month period, which is the final term, a raise at the rate of inflation will be applied. As of September 1, 2025, the increase rate, including social benefits, was 31.15 percent.

With this raise, the monthly wage of an average metal worker became 71,000 TL net, including bonuses and fuel allowance, effective from September 1, 2025. This wage will rise to 79,500 TL net on March 1, 2026. As of March 1, 2026, a cumulative increase of 44.76 percent has been achieved in wages alone. As for social rights, in the first year of the contract, the Eid al-Adha bonus was increased by 75 percent, and other social rights by 50 percent. In the second year of the contract, they will increase at the annual inflation rate. A cumulative annual increase of 47.81 percent has been achieved including social rights. Counter-proposals by MESS that would have rolled back acquired rights have been withdrawn.

The honorable and determined struggle maintained for months has once again revealed what the metal worker can achieve. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the MESS Management for taking responsibility in reaching the agreement by considering the workers' demands. These gains are the work of metal workers who stood by their union and did not give up the struggle. The rising voice of the metal worker has found its response under the leadership of our Union. For months, we said, 'We will win, the metal worker will win!' and 'If the metal worker wins, all workers win.' The metal worker has won, the entire working class has won!"