Crisis continues in İzmir: Cemil Tugay announces new proposal regarding collective bargaining agreement!

İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Cemil Tugay has made notable statements regarding the ongoing collective bargaining process between the municipality and the union.

Sharing through his personal social media account, Tugay argued that the information conveyed to the public by the executives of the Genel-İş Union does not reflect the truth. He stated, "They are denying and refuting the sincere figures we offered at the table, and we are watching this with sadness."

Tugay claimed that union representatives were portraying certain side payments as if they were being covered by a source outside the municipality, emphasizing that this approach does not reflect the reality. In this context, Tugay announced that he has presented a new offer, proposing to eliminate side payments entirely and base the agreement solely on net salary:

"Let us completely remove the side payments in approximately 50 separate items in the Collective Bargaining Agreement draft! Let us pay figures starting from 65,000 Lira and reaching 80,000 Lira as a monthly net wage. Furthermore, let us add another 10% to this increase in September: this would mean a monthly net wage of at least 71,500 Lira up to 88,000 Lira."

Mayor Tugay invited the DİSK Genel-İş Union back to the table to negotiate this offer. Addressing the workers with the words, "I believe our employees will appreciate the dedication with which this figure we proposed can be provided," Tugay expressed that they are making efforts to ensure the grievances experienced by the citizens of İzmir do not continue any longer.

Stating that they want to end the discussions, particularly those regarding side payments, Tugay noted that they aim to bring clarity to the process by saying, "We will talk about the net salary that will be paid to everyone every month."

I invite the DİSK Genel-İş Union to the table to discuss this proposal and sign our agreement as soon as possible. I believe our employees will appreciate the dedication with which this figure we proposed can be provided. The grievances experienced by the people of İzmir…

— Dr. Cemil Tugay (@drcemiltugay) May 31, 2025

WHAT HAPPENED?

Approximately 23 thousand workers employed at the İZELMAN and İZENERJİ companies affiliated with the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality had gone on strike after no agreement could be reached in the collective bargaining negotiations. With this strike, serious disruptions occurred across the city, particularly in cleaning and transportation services.

News Source: 12punto