2nd Ordinary General Assembly of HİZMET-İŞ Kırşehir Branch was held

KIRŞEHİR - The 2nd Ordinary General Assembly of the Kırşehir Branch of the HİZMET-İŞ Trade Union was held on 16 October 2025 with intense participation in order to strengthen the spirit of union solidarity and struggle. At the General Assembly, Deputy General President Halil Özdemir reacted strongly to the pressure, forced resignations and dismissals of tens of thousands of workers in some municipalities after the March 31 local elections.

The General Assembly, chaired by Vice President Mehmet Keskin, started with a moment of silence for our martyrs and the reading of the National Anthem.

Unity Message from President Arslan

HAK-İŞ Confederation and HİZMET-İŞ Union President Mahmut Arslan sent a written message to the General Assembly and wished for unity and solidarity. In his message, Arslan wished that the General Assembly would bring good luck to the union family and the workplaces in the branch's area of responsibility.

Halil Özdemir: "Mayors Persecuted Our Workers Instead of Serving"

Deputy General President Halil Özdemir started his speech by wishing the General Assembly of Kırşehir Branch to be auspicious and focused on the events that took place after the local elections. Özdemir stated that some mayors targeted workers who were members of HAK-İŞ and HİZMET-İŞ as soon as they took office, and that they were forced to resign from their unions through pressure and threats, and then almost ten thousand workers were fired and thousands were exiled:

"They gathered workers and threatened and pressured them and said 'you will resign from HAK-İŞ and HİZMET-İŞ'. Instead of service, they persecuted our workers. But no matter what they do, they will not succeed. The pressures we faced in the municipalities could not break our bond with you. They forced us to resign, made us members of unions close to them, and then started to fire us; but they could not break our determination to fight."

Drawing the red line of HİZMET-İŞ in the union struggle, Özdemir emphasized that the union acts with the principles of finding solutions at the table, prioritizing social benefit and not damaging property: "We are a union that likes to settle all our struggles at the table. We will march the most, we will protest the most, but we will not harm anyone."

National Trade Unionism to Put an End to the Subcontractor Problem

Özdemir reminded that HAK-İŞ/HİZMET-İŞ put an end to the subcontractor problem, which is the bleeding wound of Turkey, under the leadership of Mahmut Arslan and with the will of the President with the principle of "Human first, labor first". He also stated that HAK-İŞ, as a national and local union, was in the squares on July 15th and actively fought for the Palestinian issue.

"Municipal Workers Want to Be Seen: 52 Days Bonus and Full Staff"

Stating that municipal workers shoulder the burden of the city from infrastructure to cleaning, that they work day and night, but that they are the least paid, Özdemir said, "We want our mayors to see us now. We want the double standard in Turkey to end." Özdemir reiterated that they are determined to extend the right to 52-day bonuses to municipal workers and to solve the problem of full staffing for minimum wage workers in SEEs.

Let the Tax Bracket for Employees be 10 Percent

Stating that tax injustice is at the top of their demands for the improvement of financial conditions, Özdemir said that although salaries increased, they melted at the beginning of the year due to the tax bracket. Repeating the proposal of General President Mahmut Arslan, Özdemir called for the tax bracket for employees not to exceed 10 percent and to ease the tax burden.

Founder Tanrıverdi: "We shaped our union struggle with the principle of 'Human First, Labor First'"

Founding and Honorary President Hüseyin Tanrıverdi also took the floor at the General Assembly and told the story of how HİZMET-İŞ started out with seven friends in 1979. Stating that they wove a line centering on human and labor against the ideological unionism of those days, Tanrıverdi said that they continued their struggle despite the closure of the union in the September 12 coup. Tanrıverdi also gave the message that HAK-İŞ's Palestine and Jerusalem Committee will continue to support the establishment of a free Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

Hızır Gürler Renews Confidence

As a result of the election held at the General Assembly, the current Branch President Hızır Gürler was re-elected Branch President by receiving the trust of the delegates. Branch Vice Presidents were Haci Çalışkan and Gökhan Köse. Many politicians, mayors and union executives from Kırşehir and neighboring provinces attended the General Assembly.