Members of the United Pensioners Union, who came to Ankara from various provinces of Turkey, gathered to take their demands to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey ahead of the 2027 budget negotiations. After holding a press statement in front of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, the pensioners marched to the Parliament to meet with political party groups.
CHP and IYI Party deputies, as well as BTP officials, supported the statement. United Pensioners Union Chairman Mahmut Şengül criticized the government's economic policies, stating that the purchasing power of pensioners has declined over the years.
Arguing that pension replacement rates were lowered with the regulations made in 2008, Şengül said, "Pensioners who are at the hunger and poverty line today are the victims of this law." Stating that pensioners have not lost hope, Şengül used the expression, "It is necessary to eliminate the source of the problem through democratic means, and the way to do this is the ballot box."
Union Secretary General Aysel Lüle also said that pensioners should not have to pay the bill for the economic crisis. Criticizing guaranteed payments, tax amnesties, and the use of public resources, Lüle said, "The deep poverty experienced by 17 million pensioners today is not fate; unfortunately, it is an oppression inflicted upon us by the hands of those we elected."
"WE WANT ACTION, NOT PROMISES"
Stating that pensioners demand humane living conditions, Lüle said, "We will not be silent, we will not beg, we will resist. We want action, not promises. We want solutions, not pressure. We want a living wage for pensioners, not for contractors or fund managers." Lüle concluded her statement with the words, "Either a living wage or immediate elections."
Lawyer Ali Erdem Gündoğan, who took the floor during the statement, criticized the data announced by TUIK (Turkish Statistical Institute) which serves as the basis for wage increases. Gündoğan stated that the "baseless data" lawsuit filed against TUIK has been awaiting appellate review at the 10th Administrative Chamber of the Ankara Regional Administrative Court for approximately 1.5 years. Gündoğan reported that 28 pensioners' organizations are preparing to hold a press statement in front of the HSK (Council of Judges and Prosecutors) for this reason.
United Public-Work Confederation Chairman Orhan Yıldırım also drew attention to the livelihood problems experienced by pensioners, arguing that the wages deserved by millions of pensioners have been curtailed, and said, "These will sooner or later be accounted for democratically at the ballot box."
IYI Party Deputy Chairman Selçuk Türkoğlu, who supported the protest, claimed that pensioners are being faced with the harshest living conditions in the history of the Republic. CHP Niğde Deputy Ömer Fethi Gürer stated that pension salaries should be raised to the level of the minimum wage, an adjustment regulation should be made, the medication contribution fee should be abolished, the path to union organization should be cleared, and rent support should be provided to pensioners living in rented homes.
News Source : 12punto
