Türkiye Kamu-Sen President Kahveci Critiques Government: "Figures Should Be Based on Realized, Not Targeted, Inflation"

ANKARA - Önder Kahveci, President of the Confederation of Turkish Public Employees' Unions (Türkiye Kamu-Sen), made a strong evaluation of the 8th Term Collective Agreement process, harshly criticizing the government's proposals and the general public personnel regime. Kahveci emphasized that the government's salary increases should be based on "realized inflation" rather than "targeted inflation," drawing attention to the salary injustices and the deterioration of work peace within the public sector.

"The Lowest Civil Servant Salary Should Be Higher Than the Lowest Worker's Salary"

In his statement, Kahveci clarified that he was not comparing the salaries of civil servants and workers. He stated that their primary goal is to maintain work peace for 4 million civil servants and 600,000 workers so that public services can be carried out without interruption. In this context, he argued that the lowest civil servant salary should be above the lowest worker's salary. He added that this is not a competition, but a recognition that each group has different responsibilities.

"There Are No Excessive Public Employees, There Is a Problem with Resource Allocation"

Kahveci dismissed the common narrative of "too many public employees" as misinformation. Citing OECD data, he pointed out that Turkey ranks 31st out of 36 countries, and reminded that the state is not a private company, but a social entity that provides public services through its officials. He highlighted that despite a 1 million increase in the number of civil servants between 2021 and 2024, their share of the budget has dropped from 25 percent to 21 percent, emphasizing that the real issue lies in resource distribution, not in the number of personnel.

"Social Rights Are Not Being Discussed at the Table; Welfare Share is a Must"

Kahveci also criticized the negotiation process, stating that compressing the talks into 22 days narrows the scope for discussing issues. He argued that the method of separate general and service-specific collective agreements used for workers should also be applied to civil servants. He also expressed his discontent that social rights were not adequately discussed at the table. He stated that a "welfare share" is a must for public employees and, by saying "an increase equal to inflation is a zero increase," he stood against placing the burden of the economic crisis on the employees.

Emphasis on Tax Justice and Meritocracy

Kahveci also made important statements regarding the tax system, saying, "Ensuring tax justice does not mean 'let's pay less tax.' The main point is to tax earnings." He demanded that the tax rate be fixed at 15 percent, noting that all salaried employees, whether in the public or private sector, pay their taxes before they even receive their salaries. Furthermore, Kahveci touched upon current issues such as civil servants' reluctance to work in large cities and holiday destinations, stating that this situation leads to interruptions in public services. Finally, he stated that in the second century of the Republic, Turkey needs a new public personnel regime based on competence and meritocracy.