HAK-İŞ Invites Non-Union Workers to Organize for a Stronger Turkey

Ankara - HAK-İŞ Confederation made an assessment after the announcement of the second period union statistics for 2025 and stated that it is taking firm steps towards becoming the largest labor confederation in Turkey. HAK-İŞ President Mahmut Arslan stated that they continue to gain the appreciation and trust of workers despite all the difficulties and pressures and said, "We would like to thank our laborer brothers and sisters who believe in us, trust us, walk with us and devote themselves to the HAK-İŞ cause. For a stronger Turkey and a stronger HAK-İŞ, we invite all non-union workers to organize in our unions under the roof of HAK-İŞ."

"Together We Work for a Stronger Turkey"

President Mahmut Arslan emphasized in his statement that the growth of HAK-İŞ means the growth of Turkey. "With the strength we receive from our members, we are marching to new horizons and new heights with more confident steps," Arslan said, adding that in the light of the Vision of Turkey's Century, they are directing their efforts to make the second century of the country the century of labor, production and sweat of the brow. Arslan also expressed his sincere gratitude to the HAK-İŞ organization, which has shouldered the honorable, principled and determined struggle of HAK-İŞ and contributed to achieving these successes despite all the difficulties and pressures faced by the trade union movement.

Syndical Statistics and the Position of HAK-İŞ

According to the statistics released, only 2 million 429 thousand 527, which is 14.02% of the total 17 million 326 thousand 143 workers in Turkey, are members of unions. Mahmut Arslan said that this picture shows that HAK-İŞ has greater responsibilities and a lot of work to do. Stating that the total number of members of the confederation is 828,132, Arslan noted that with the addition of 2,500 members of the Cyprus Kamu-Sen Union in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, the total number of members has reached 830,632.

Household Workers' Struggle to Organize

HAK-İŞ announced that it has taken important steps towards organizing domestic workers, as it did in the struggle for the recruitment of subcontracted workers. Arslan stated that they have reached 61 thousand 657 members by weaving the struggle they started for domestic workers to achieve their social rights. He stated that although this number is not included in the union statistics, they continue their organizing struggle at full speed and thank domestic workers for their labor struggle under the roof of HAK-İŞ.

The Impact of Local Elections on the Labor Movement and Layoffs

Sharing once again that the labor movement suffered a heavy blow with the March 31, 2024 local elections, Arslan stated that some newly elected mayors continue to dismiss workers with arbitrary practices and interfere with the will of workers. Emphasizing that they do not accept the dismissal of workers who are members of unions affiliated to HAK-İŞ Confederation without any fault, disciplinary action or investigation, purely on the initiative of the mayors, Arslan said: "We continue to support the noble and honorable struggle of our workers with our resistance tents all over our country. Whether they are members of our unions or not. No matter which union they belong to or whether they are unionized or not, we stand by them all, we are with them all."

The Leadership of the Member Unions of HAK-İŞ

In the statement, it was stated that HAK-İŞ member unions continued to grow stronger by increasing their membership numbers. It was noted that Hizmet-İş Trade Union maintained its leadership as the second largest trade union in Turkey and the largest trade union in its sector, while Öz Sağlık-İş Trade Union maintained its leadership as the third largest trade union in Turkey and the leader of its sector. In addition, Öz Finans-İş, Öz Orman-İş, Öz Güven-Sen, Öz Ağaç-İş and Medya-İş Unions maintained their leadership in their respective branches.

President Arslan once again thanked all his organization for carrying HAK-İŞ into the future and for their dedication, and concluded his statement by saying, "As HAK-İŞ, we are marching to new horizons and new heights with the strength we receive from our members for a bigger and stronger Turkey and HAK-İŞ, and we invite all non-union workers to organize in HAK-İŞ and to walk together to make Turkey's century the century of the working people."