The Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DİSK) continued its "Laborer Meetings" program in Tekirdağ. In her speech at the meeting held in Hasan Ali Yücel Square, DİSK Chair Arzu Çerkezoğlu drew attention to the living conditions of workers and retirees, reiterating the demand for income and tax justice.
Çerkezoğlu stated that high inflation reduces the purchasing power of wages every day, and that wage increases are eroded against real inflation because they are determined according to "missed inflation targets." Pointing to DİSK-AR's October Wage Loss Monitoring Report, Çerkezoğlu stated that the total nine-month bill of inflation and taxes on worker wages has reached at least 2 trillion 254 billion liras.
Expressing that the cumulative bill of inflation on only insured worker wages in the ninth month of the year was 1 trillion 223 billion liras, Çerkezoğlu stated that the minimum wage lost 6 thousand 828 liras in the same month.
The money that a minimum wage earner could earn by working non-stop for 6 thousand years with their sweat can be earned by those at the very top in four months while sitting still, funded by others. We cannot make ends meet not because this country is poor, but because there is no justice in income, taxes, or the country.
DEMANDS AND MEETING PROGRAM
Listing DİSK's demands, Çerkezoğlu called for an increase in all wages, especially the minimum wage, a reduction of the first income tax bracket rate to 10 percent, and the updating of tax brackets in a way that does not lead to wage losses for employees throughout the year.
Çerkezoğlu also stated that the lowest pension should be raised to at least the level of the minimum wage, all pensions should be increased at the same rate, and restrictions on democratic rights, especially the right to strike, should be removed.
Touching upon freedom of the press and expression in her speech, Çerkezoğlu described the suspension of Halk TV's broadcast and the appointment of a trustee as a "grave violation of press freedom, the public's right to receive information, and democracy."
Stating that DİSK's Laborer Meetings program will continue with Edirne, Çerkezoğlu announced that they will meet with laborers in Bursa, Eskişehir, Çanakkale, and Balıkesir next week, and subsequently in Aydın and Antalya.
News Source: 12punto
