HAK-İŞ President Arslan Attended L20 Summit in South Africa

George, South Africa - HAK-İŞ Confederation President Mahmut Arslan attended the L20 Summit in George, South Africa on 28-29 July 2025 with the theme "Promoting Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability through a New Social Contract". President Arslan was accompanied by our Foreign Relations Unit Chief Merita Yıldız.

Arslan Speaks as a Panelist at the Session on Geopolitical Challenges and Multilateralism

Moderated by Luc Triangle, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), President Arslan was a panelist at the session titled "Geopolitical Challenges and the Need for Strengthened Multilateralism: What is the Role of the G20?" as a panelist. Arslan said he was pleased to take the floor at the session moderated by ITUC General Secretary Triangle and hosted by the Confederations of South Africa.

Arslan reminded that we are going through a dangerous period in which global inequalities are deepening, social solidarity is weakening and the principles of international law are being ignored, and said: "We are in a period in which conflicts are deepening, wars are prolonging, and hopes for peace are being destroyed more and more every day. The response of world leaders to these crises is either silence or armament. Both are unacceptable for us laborers."

"In Gaza, a human tragedy is unfolding before our eyes"

Seeing that one of the most painful examples of silence is currently taking place in Gaza before our eyes, Mr. Arslan said: "For 664 days, the Zionist State of Israel has been carrying out a systematic, deliberate and disproportionate destruction against the people of Gaza. Hospitals have been bombed, refugee camps have been razed to the ground and 60 thousand civilians, mostly children, have been massacred. Schools, places of worship, bakeries, water facilities, even UN buildings could not be protected from the attacks. Gaza, under Zionist Israel's aggression and tight siege restricting the entry of humanitarian aid, is experiencing a humanitarian catastrophe where hunger is spreading and water, medicine, medical supplies and hygiene materials are unavailable. Unfortunately, the number of starvation deaths in Gaza has reached 147 people, including 88 children."

General President Mahmut Arslan stressed that it is an honorable stance for the Republic of South Africa to have the courage to file a lawsuit against Zionist Israel for committing genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza at a time when many governments and international organizations remain silent in the face of these atrocities.

Stating that the decision of the NATO Summit in The Hague to allocate 5 percent of national income to defense and security expenditures by 2035 should be realized without reducing the resources allocated for health, education and social expenditures, he said, "If you cut the health budget, if you ignore social security, if you neglect education, employment, housing and the environment; you are actually cutting the electricity, water and gas of a house and then installing a camera alarm system on its door."

Arslan's Emphasis on Life Worthy of Human Dignity

Mentioning that it would not be enough to secure the lives of the people only by increasing defense expenditures, Arslan said that it was important to make sufficient investments in public health, social security, education, employment and the environment. "Real security is only possible in an order in which all members of society live a life worthy of human dignity," Arslan said.

"We Must Institutionalize Our Responses to Disasters, Wars, Humanitarian Crises"

Saying that labor organizations can produce many solutions in this regard and giving examples of HAK-İŞ's efforts in this regard, President Arslan said, "First of all, we must expand the concept of security and institutionalize our responses to disasters, wars and humanitarian crises."

"We cannot remain silent against injustice"

Arslan said, "We cannot remain silent against aggression, wars and injustices that destroy International Law. Security is not only defense against military threats. A society's preparedness for epidemics, natural disasters, wars and forced migrations is also part of real security. For this reason, the trade union movement should have institutional structures that can intervene in disasters, organize humanitarian aid and establish international solidarity."

Reminding that HAK-İŞ is not only a labor organization but also a human rights organization, Arslan said, "Wherever there is a problem in the name of humanity and labor, it concerns us. We think that HAK-İŞ should say something about this, produce solutions and fight to realize these solutions."

"Our Work as HAK-İŞ is the Result of an Institutionalized, Organized Trade Union Reflex"

President Mahmut Arslan reminded that as HAK-İŞ, we have taken concrete steps in this direction with our Disaster Affairs Committee, our Support for Palestine and Jerusalem Committee and our work on international trade union platforms, and stated that they provide food, shelter and legal support to our members and those in need in times of crisis such as earthquakes and floods. Arslan emphasized that they have not only made press statements with the committee they established against the genocide in Palestine, but also organized humanitarian aid campaigns worth more than 1.2 million dollars, established a soup kitchen in Gaza and made direct contributions. "These efforts are not random; they are the result of an institutionalized and organized union reflex," Arslan said.

"A Strong Labor Movement Can Bring Real Transformation If It Is Inclusive"

Underlining that one of the most fundamental responsibilities of HAK-İŞ is to deliver the power of labor to all segments of society in a fair and inclusive manner, Arslan reminded that a strong labor movement can only create real transformation if it is inclusive. "We must produce social justice policies that cover all segments of society and within this framework, we must make the empowerment of youth, women and the disabled a union priority. Women's participation in decision-making mechanisms, young people's early involvement in trade unions, and the participation of people with disabilities in accessible and equal work environments are not only a matter of social policy, but also a matter of justice."

"We have made more than 60,000 domestic workers in Turkey partners in our struggle"

General President Arslan stated that making invisible labor visible and overcoming precarious work through organized struggle is one of the responsibilities of unions, and in this context, he noted that the campaign they launched to bring unregistered domestic workers, 95 percent of whom are women in Turkey, into the registered system and benefit from their union rights continues at full speed, and that they have made more than 60,000 domestic workers partners in their struggle.

Seeing that international trade union structures such as the ITUC and ETUC are the most legitimate democratic instruments that bridge the gap between multilateral platforms and the people, Arslan said, "In the face of a deepening global democracy deficit, trade unions are not only the representatives of the working people but also the conscience of the people. This is why the link between the G20 and the trade union movement is vital for participatory and fair global governance."

"In order to build justice, the voice of labor must be listened to"

General President Mahmut Arslan emphasized the importance of unions being a stakeholder of the system acting on the basis of common sense in G20 and L20 activities and said: "G20 decisions should not conflict with ILO norms; they should be fed by the concrete proposals of the L20 in areas such as social protection, fair income distribution, green transformation and safe migration. Otherwise, every decision taken will remain far from the people and devoid of justice. We may not be able to solve all problems. But we must work together to build global mechanisms that can solve all problems and achieve more effective outcomes. If we want peace, we must build justice. In order to build justice, the voice of labor must be listened to."

Following his speech, President Mahmut Arslan read a letter from Aysa Hamuda, President of the Women's Committee of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU), to the participants of the L20 Summit.

"We Just Want to Be Human!"

Hamuda said in her letter: "For two and a half years, Gaza has been fighting death. In all forms, with all kinds of pain, in ways that exceed the limits of human understanding. Between hunger and blood, between cold and displacement, between loss of limbs and loss of loved ones. Gaza is bleeding, Gaza is bleeding. It bleeds in silence and no one hears it. I ask myself: am I still here, are we still part of this world, or has Palestine been erased from memory? We don't want the impossible. We just want to be human, to live, to laugh, to learn, to build, to dream, to be loved and to love. Today Palestine is a wounded bird trying to fly, but its wings are bleeding and no one sees it. O world, O universe, O those who speak of humanity."