Retirees in İzmir protest inflation rates

Members of the All Retirees Union İzmir Branches Platform and numerous retirees gathered in front of the YKM in İzmir's Konak district to hold their 11th sit-in protest, drawing attention to the economic hardships they face. Throughout the protest, slogans such as "Retirees are seeking their rights" and "Budget for retirees, not for war" were frequently chanted.

In the press statement issued, the retirees reiterated their demands with the following words: "We, the retirees, are citizens who have worked for years across Turkey and contributed to the country's economy. However, despite spending the majority of our lives working, we are condemned to work again even in our retirement just to make ends meet. With the salary increases made by the AKP government based on inflation rates that do not reflect reality, poverty has become inevitable."

The statement continued: "While our living conditions are becoming increasingly difficult due to successive hikes in basic food products, electricity, natural gas, and fuel, as well as high taxes, almost all retirees have incomes below the poverty line, and the majority have incomes even lower than the hunger threshold. Retirees are seen as a burden on the budget. While retirees in Europe travel the world with the pensions they receive, we in Turkey are trying to survive on credit card debt, and many of us are under the threat of foreclosure." It was also emphasized that various deductions made from retirement pensions further increase the difficulty of making a living.

Finally, the retirees, who rejected the government's salary increase policy, stated: "Enough is enough! We do not want to be forced to work after retiring. We demand a wage that we can live on humanely for a peaceful and secure life. We do not accept the government's 'charity-like' raises, and we strongly protest the political power's attitude toward retirees. We, the retirees, want a livable wage, not charity."