DISK Announces Action Calendar for a Dignified Minimum Wage: Mobilization Begins in September!

ANKARA - The Confederation of Revolutionary Trade Unions (DİSK) has taken an important step ahead of the minimum wage determination process, which directly concerns millions of workers, and announced that it will start nationwide protests from September demanding a "dignified minimum wage". DİSK President Arzu Çerkezoğlu drew attention to the workers' struggle for survival in the conditions of economic crisis and high inflation, and stated that they will launch a new mobilization for organizing and emphasize the importance of union rights.

"We are on the Streets for Justice in Income, Tax and Country"

DİSK President Arzu Çerkezoğlu, in a press conference with the union leadership, explained to the public the struggle strategy they will carry out in the coming period. Çerkezoğlu stated that the minimum wage is more than just a wage-setting tool, it constitutes the basis of working life in Turkey and should therefore be at a level sufficient for a decent life.

Stating that the main slogan of the protests that will start in September will be "Justice in Income, Justice in Tax, Justice in Country", Çerkezoğlu argued that the economic policies implemented by the government impoverish the working class and the tax burden is distributed unfairly. In a statement to press members, he said that the minimum wage is far below the hunger and poverty line and that workers are being driven into more and more misery every day.

Organization Mobilization and Call to "Become a DISKer"

DİSK's action calendar will not be limited to protests. The Confederation will launch an organizing campaign by developing new methods of struggle against the usurpation of rights and oppression in working life. As part of this mobilization, a call will be made to non-unionized and precarious workers.

Çerkezoğlu announced this call with the slogan "Don't be condemned to a minimum life, be unionized, be a DISK member". With this call, DİSK aims to go beyond the search for individual rights and explain that organized struggle and union power is the only way out for workers. The union leaders emphasized that the struggle for rights will be fought not only at the collective bargaining tables, but also on the streets, in action zones and workplaces.

Minimum Wage Debates in the Shadow of High Inflation and Cost of Living

DISK's decision to take action comes just before the minimum wage debate, one of the hottest topics on the Turkish economic agenda. The recent high inflation and the cost of living in the country have led to the reaction of private sector workers as well as public sector workers. DİSK's actions will spread these reactions more widely and show that the minimum wage is not only an economic issue, but also a political and social one.

The protests will continue throughout the minimum wage setting commission's meeting, union sources said, with the aim of gaining stronger public support for the demands of workers' representatives. DİSK's decision could be an important turning point in strengthening the labor movement in Turkey and bringing the minimum wage to a humane level.

Source: universal.net