Poverty raise for civil servants... Arbitration Board makes its decision, unions walk away from the table

The Public Officials Arbitration Board, which determines the fate of millions of civil servants, has reached its decision regarding salary increases in its fourth meeting. The board, which largely maintained the government's proposal, decided on a 11 + 7 percent raise for 2026 and a 5 + 4 percent raise for 2027. Additionally, a 1,000 TL improvement to base salaries was accepted.

REACTION TO THE DECISION FROM MEMUR-SEN

The authorized union, Memur-Sen, held a press conference at its headquarters in Ankara following the decision. Chairman Ali Yalçın argued that they had put in a great deal of effort during the process and stated the following:

“We stood tall, we did not remain silent, we said everything that needed to be said, and we displayed a determined stance. We did everything that needed to be done. At this point, no one should ever expect us to accept this decision or to take ownership of problems we did not cause.”

Yalçın also criticized the current regulation, saying, “All of Turkey has now learned how terrible the union law is and how bad the arbitration system is.”

UNIONS WALK AWAY FROM THE TABLE

Following the decision, Memur-Sen announced, “We have withdrawn from the Arbitration Board.” The second union at the table, Kamu-Sen, made the same decision and left the process.

Birleşik Kamu-İş, which holds a seat on the board, did not sit at the table from the very beginning. The union stated, “We will not be part of a system that was clearly unfair from the start,” and called for the board to be rendered dysfunctional.

The Confederation of Public Employees' Unions (KESK) targeted both the arbitration board and the unions that sat at the table. Stating that this process was neither democratic nor fair from the beginning, KESK issued a statement saying, “The unions gave legitimacy to the process by sitting at the table. They should not have sat down in the first place.”

News Source: 12punto