Call for inflation adjustment payment from Kamu-Sen: 'We must protect our retirees and civil servants'

Türkiye Kamu-Sen President Önder Kahveci issued a written statement regarding the March inflation data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK). In his written statement on the March inflation figures, Kahveci recalled that consumer prices rose by an average of 3.16 percent last month, and that inflation for the first 3 months of the year reached 15.05 percent.

Reminding that civil servant salaries were increased by 15 percent for the first 6-month period of this year, Kahveci stated that the announced inflation figures reveal that the salaries of civil servants and retired civil servants have been eroded.

Stating that authorities should move away from the election agenda starting today and place the economy at the top of the agenda, Kahveci used the following expressions:

"The fact that the raises given for 6 months have been defeated by inflation within 3 months shows that the difficulties experienced by our civil servants and retirees will multiply in the 3 months remaining until the next salary raise process. In an environment where annual inflation exceeds 68 percent and is expected to climb to 80 percent in the coming period, a 15 percent salary raise will mean economic ruin for public employees."

Drawing attention to the fact that retired civil servants are suffering greatly because the additional payment that came into effect last year and reached 12 thousand 54 TL is not included in retirement calculations, Kahveci noted the following:

"If the speed of rising inflation is attempted to be curbed by reducing the purchasing power of employees, greater social problems will arise. The fight against inflation must be achieved by transitioning to production that creates added value without reducing the purchasing power of our people. For this reason, our civil servants and retirees must be protected from the inflation that will increase further in the coming period, and their purchasing power must be increased.

To ensure this, the additional payment must absolutely be reflected in retirement pensions, a welfare share must be given to employees, and the path of paying the inflation difference to salaries on a monthly basis must be followed. From this moment on, healing the economic wounds formed on civil servants and retirees must be the most priority issue for our authorities."