Strong Reaction from United Public-Is to the Arbitration Board Decision: "The Arbitrator is Biased, the Game is Rigged; Labor Will Break This Game!"

ANKARA - Reactions from unions continue to come after the Public Officials Arbitration Board decided on the salary increases of civil servants and civil servant pensioners for the years 2026 and 2027. The United Public-Is Confederation described the board's decisions as a "miserable hike" and argued that the process was a "rigged game" from the beginning. The confederation announced that they do not accept the decision and will take the struggle to the fields.

"Not even a Mouse Born: Government's Notary Panel"

United Public Workers' Union (Unified Public Workers' Union) described the decision of the Arbitration Board as "scandalous". According to the Confederation's statement, the government's previous raise proposals, which were rejected by public laborers, were approved with a minor revision by the Arbitration Board. He stated that the Board's 11+7 percent raise for 2026 and 5+4 percent raise for 2027 condemned civil servants and pensioners to poverty.

United Public Workers' Union also harshly criticized the structure of the board. The statement used the term "Arbitration Committee, which is the notary officer of the political power" and argued that the purpose of the committee is not to protect the rights of public workers, but to approve the government's policies. The Confederation reminded that a decision in favor of laborers from this board is already impossible, as the majority of the board members are directly or indirectly appointed by the President. It was claimed that the decision came not directly from the Arbitration Committee but from the political power.

Criticisms against other Confederations and the Process

United Public Workers' Union also criticized the attitude of other union confederations. Stating that it is a wrong tactic to give members to the Arbitration Committee and legitimize the process, the Confederation said, "We stated that the right thing to do is not to give members to this committee and to carry the process to the Parliament and the fields." Saying that other confederations are trying to soften the public reaction with statements such as "we also made gains, but insufficient", United Kamu-İş argued that there were no gains in this misery raise.

The statement pointed out that the decision, which accelerated the process, was taken in a hurry on the fourth day of the five-day period in which the Arbitration Committee was supposed to make a decision. It was emphasized that this situation does not go beyond serving to legitimize the process.

The Struggle Moves to the Fields

United Public Workers' Union declared that they absolutely do not accept this decision of the Arbitration Board and that they will increase their democratic struggle. The confederation stated that they will be in the fields together with labor organizations, pensioner associations and non-governmental organizations during the budget negotiations against this order that ignores the right of public workers to live humanely. In the statement, the confederation said, "We will spoil this game!" and gave the message that they will not back down until they are paid for their labor. The confederation called on all labor organizations and the public to support this just struggle.