Cemil Tugay makes statement on layoff decision! Sets conditions for the union

The announcement that a total of 1,030 employees will be laid off from İZDOĞA, İZELMAN, and İZULAŞ, which are subsidiaries of the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality, has caused widespread repercussions in the city. While explaining the reasons behind this decision, Mayor Cemil Tugay stated that the union's demands were straining the budget. Tugay expressed that the high salary demands of the Belediye-İş Union have disrupted the budget balance, making layoffs inevitable.

Tugay called on the union, which says "We will not give up our gains," to waive the increases in the contract to stop the layoffs. Tugay stated that they have been working for months to rectify this situation, which has created unrest among municipal employees.

DISPUTE WITH THE UNION CONTINUES

Tugay emphasized that laying off some employees is mandatory to ensure the sustainability of the municipal budget. Stating that "it will be a process that observes justice," Tugay noted that they expect employees who have reached retirement age to leave their jobs first, and otherwise, they will part ways with employees who do not contribute in terms of productivity.

Tugay reiterated his call for consensus to the union, saying, "We want them to waive the 'work attendance bonus' and 'no-sick-leave bonus' that should not have been taken, along with the increase in September. These two bonuses, which have no precedent in Turkey or the world, were unfortunately granted. They must be eliminated."

Tugay's statements are as follows:

"We have been trying to fix this not just today, but for months. We have been working on this for at least 6 months. The reason for the strike is this imbalance. Unless we fix this, the problem will continue. This is a situation that disrupts equality in terms of balance within the institution and makes the other union say 'equal pay for equal work.' On the other hand, it is also a problematic situation in terms of the municipality's own budget and its relations with the outside. When they say 'acquired right,' unfortunately, I will say it again with sadness; this is a rate and a contract that was rushed five days before the election at a time when it shouldn't have been, and signed by the outgoing mayor with a somewhat opportunistic attitude. It is not fair. If other people working in the same institution are receiving lower wages, everyone must accept that there is a mistake here."

“I HAVE BEEN SUBJECTED TO A VERY ABSURD SLANDER”

Responding to the allegation that he signed a similar collective bargaining agreement in the final days of his Karşıyaka Mayoralty, Tugay said:

“People who want to twist this into other shapes are probably people who have been eternally seeking hostility towards me. All of İzmir, the entire public, and all municipal employees see this. Even the members of the unions see it, which I understand from the feedback. But some people insist on not seeing the truth and try to make up excuses. Yesterday, I was subjected to another very absurd slander that reached my ears. Someone said that I also signed a contract at the Karşıyaka Municipality before the election. It is a great shame. The contract we signed there was a mandatory one that had reached its final date, and it was for 30 people. The rate we gave is also never a high rate; it was an increase at the normal inflation rate. If this contract had also been at the inflation rate instead of 67 percent, we wouldn't be talking about these today. Trying to equate that with this is immoral.”

“WE WILL NOT CONDUCT THIS PROCESS THOUGHTLESSLY OR WITHOUT VALUING PEOPLE”

Noting that no positive step has come from the union to stop the layoffs, Tugay used the following expressions:

“They said, 'We are insistent on that contract.' Legally, if the union does not make an additional protocol after the signature, we are obliged to pay it. However, since the budget cannot handle this, we have to make layoffs to ensure budget balance and reach a figure we can pay. Something that saddens me here is this: They look at it as if we have a scythe in our hands and are going to mow people down. It won't be like that. It will be a process that observes justice. What we want most is for our employees who have reached retirement age to leave their jobs first. We would be much happier if they did this of their own volition, but if they don't, we will try to encourage it.

We will truly choose those who do not contribute to the institution in terms of productivity. Our working friends should not worry. We will not conduct this process thoughtlessly or without valuing people. We never have ill intentions towards them, but the issue I expect everyone to understand is this; I have to manage the municipality. I cannot leave the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality in a state of budget indiscipline. What falls to me is to do whatever is necessary for the institution's budget and internal order to reach the state they should be in. Otherwise, I would not be doing my job. If we look at the words of those who talk nonsense externally, we can neither provide service nor maintain order within the institution. They should excuse me, the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality will be an institution that serves its people well, and the mayor will be someone who does what is required."

Reiterating his call for 'consensus' to the union, Tugay said, "We want them to waive the 'work attendance bonus' and 'no-sick-leave bonus' that should not have been taken, along with the increase in September. These two bonuses, which have no precedent in Turkey or the world, were unfortunately granted. They must be eliminated. Today is the best day for this. Unless we do this, we will continue to part ways with some of our friends through gradual evaluations."

News Source: 12punto