Minister Işıkhan labels May 1st insistence as 'stubbornness': 'These are practices left over from the old Turkey'

Minister of Labor and Social Security Vedat Işıkhan visited TÜRK-İŞ. 

Minister Işıkhan, Deputy Minister Faruk Özçelik, General Director of Labor Mehmet Baş, and their accompanying delegation visited TÜRK-İŞ President Ergün Atalay at the confederation's headquarters.

MAY 1ST STATEMENT: 'OUR WORKERS ARE NOT SUBJECTS OF IDEOLOGICAL SLOGANS...'

Minister Işıkhan, noting that the anniversary of May 1st Labor and Solidarity Day is approaching, stated that because it marks the milestone beginning the second century of the Republic and the Century of Turkey, this year's May 1st will be celebrated in a much more meaningful and different atmosphere than in previous years.

Stating that they will celebrate this special day of the labor world together with all segments that work, produce, and toil through various programs they will organize throughout the week, Işıkhan continued his words as follows:

"Labor is a sacred concept that holds an exceptional place in both our material and spiritual worlds. With this sensitivity, protecting the rights of our workers and laborers has always been our priority. We have prioritized the interests of our employees in every field, from the right to unionize to social security. Knowing that defending labor and sweat is just as important as the labor itself, we have been and will continue to be the greatest supporters of union activities.

We must not forget that the concepts of rights, law, and justice can be established through action, not slogans. Our workers and laborers should be the subjects of sincere actions, not ideological slogans."

"THE SWEAT OF WORKERS IS GREATER THAN TAKSIM SQUARE"

Stating that laborers are on one hand concerned with bringing bread to their homes and on the other hand working for the growth of the country, Işıkhan continued as follows:

"One of the most important powers of our country's development, perhaps the most important, is our laborers. Therefore, it is impossible for our workers, who carry the love of homeland and nation in their hearts, to take part in any action that would harm our country, disrupt our progress and growth, or cause tension in society. The good intentions of the mentality that sees such times as an opportunity for social chaos and makes our laborers clean up the mess they leave behind at the end of the day should be questioned."

LIMITED PARTICIPATION RIGHTS FOR UNIONS

These are practices left over from the old Turkey. It was our government, led by our President Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, that realized the importance of today and declared May 1st a holiday by making it a symbol of the labor and solidarity we hold sacred, in a way that befits the understanding and spirit it represents. Limiting such an important issue to a single area or square, to Taksim Square, and trapping the issue in such a vicious cycle does not fit the value we place on people and labor."

Stating that the sweat of the worker, the laborer, and the employees is too great to fit into Taksim Square, Işıkhan said, "I commemorate with mercy our 34 workers and laborers we lost in Taksim in 1977. However, the insistence on mass celebrations in this area by those who do not even remember the names of the laborers who lost their lives in Taksim, by using their cherished memories, damages the spirit of solidarity of May 1st. As you know, our unions are permitted limited participation to commemorate our loved ones we lost on May 1st in Taksim."