Interesting protest against the Social Security Institution (SGK) by CHP mayor: He placed himself under house arrest!

The Ministry of Labor and Social Security has taken action regarding the debts of CHP-run municipalities across Turkey.

Following the statement by President and AKP Chairman Erdoğan, who said, "We will continue to shake up municipalities that do not pay their debts to the SGK, and furthermore, continue to pile up debt upon debt without feeling any shame," foreclosure proceedings were first initiated against CHP-run metropolitan municipalities in Adana, Ankara, Istanbul, İzmir, and Mersin, as well as the Şişli Municipality, with blocks placed on their deposit accounts and municipal company accounts.

HOUSE ARREST DECISION FROM CHP MAYOR

In Konya, CHP Mayor Umut Akpınar, who took over the Ereğli Municipality mayoral seat from MHP's Hüseyin Oprukçu in the March 31 local elections, made remarks that will be widely discussed during a program held at the Ereğli Cultural Center.

Akpınar announced that he would begin house arrest, stating that the municipality has significant debt, that the imposed blocks have tied their hands, and that their path is blocked for planned projects.

"THEY HAVE BLOCKED EVERYTHING"

In his statement, Akpınar said, "If I had incurred this city's debt, I would pay the price. But I did not incur this debt. I am saying it clearly: if those who betrayed this city, those who acted treacherously against this city, are not paying the price, and they are making us pay the price, making the children and youth of this city pay the price... We will not pay this price. We will get this municipality back on its feet, don't worry; I have no desperation, nor do I have hopelessness. They have blocked everything, they have tied everything up... We held a meeting today, and they said, 'Mr. Mayor, we have to lay off workers.' 

"I AM IMPOSING THIS PUNISHMENT ON MYSELF!"

"I did not come here to play with anyone's livelihood. I do not want to fire anyone from the municipality. I am imposing this punishment on myself. Starting Monday, I am beginning my own house arrest. We have 5 deputy mayors. I will hand over the authority on Monday and begin my house arrest. Operations will continue, nothing will be disrupted. I am imposing this punishment on myself," he said.

"A PORTION OF THE DEBTS IS FROM THE PREVIOUS TERM"

CHP's Umut Akpınar also held a press conference at the municipal building this morning.

Noting that the SGK debt was not paid while the municipality was under MHP management, Umut Akpınar said the following:

-As of today, we have a total of 767 employees in our municipality. Due to the collective bargaining agreement made in January, worker wages, which were approximately 17 thousand liras, were increased to 24-25 thousand liras. And since that date, the money that should have been deposited to the SGK has not been deposited.

-In other words, the debt starts from that period. When we arrived here on March 31, we started paying our personnel's salaries. While paying their salaries, we were also unable to pay the SGK expenses.

-Let me explain why we couldn't pay. At that time, the Iller Bank revenue was 23 million. Currently, our Iller Bank revenue is around 28-30 million liras on average. Our personnel expenses alone are over 30 million. In other words, the money coming from the Iller Bank does not cover our personnel's salaries.

-But despite this, we paid our personnel's salaries and did not lay off any workers. We only fired the 'ATM employees' (ghost employees) who were a burden on the country during that process.

"ACCOUNTS HAVE BEEN FROZEN"

Announcing that the municipality's accounts were frozen by the SGK, Akpınar said, "The SGK blocked our accounts last week. Now, how is a municipality with frozen accounts supposed to pay its employees' salaries? We had a debt of approximately 35 million to the SGK. I spoke with the SGK director, and they told us, 'Submit the necessary letters, and we will conduct the necessary discussions.' Then, after the debt exceeded 40 million, they said, 'Since the debt has exceeded 40 million, we cannot intervene.' We offered to provide land in exchange for our debts, but for weeks, not even a valuation has been conducted. Our request for installment payments has also received no response whatsoever."

HOUSE ARREST BEGINS

Umut Akpınar stated that he would begin a 2-day house arrest starting today to protest the freezing of the accounts.

HE HAD ANNOUNCED THE MUNICIPALITY'S DEBT WITH A BANNER

After taking office as mayor, Umut Akpınar hung a banner on the municipal building showing the total debts of the municipality and announced to the public that the Ereğli Municipality had a debt of 529 million, excluding the Bolkar company.