Joint Demand from Memur-Sen and Türkiye Kamu-Sen at KPDK: "The Law No. 4688 should be amended, and the Eid Bonus should also be given to civil servants!"

ANKARA - The last Public Personnel Advisory Board (KPDK) meeting of the year was held at the Ministry of Labor and Social Security. Deputy President of Memur-Sen Hacı Bayram Tonbul and executives of Türkiye Kamu-Sen attended the meeting. At the meeting, vital issues such as the main problems of the public personnel system, pension arrangements, 3600 additional indicators, removal of the interview and spring bonuses for civil servants were discussed. The unions emphasized that the current Law No. 4688 is outdated and that a new collective bargaining law is inevitable.

Collective Bargaining System Questioned: "The Law Must Change!"

Memur-Sen Deputy Chairman Hacı Bayram Tonbul stated that half of the eight collective agreements have ended in disagreement and the main reason for this is the deficiencies in Law No. 4688. Tonbul said that the board remained in idle capacity and should be made decision-making and made the following call:

• New Law is a Must: "The Arbitration Council, which has been visited 4 times, has not produced any reasonable result. A new collective bargaining law in line with the Presidential Government System, including fair and universal union rights, is now inevitable."

• KPDK Should Be Effective: Reminding that the previous decision of "Meeting with Agenda" was not implemented, he stated that the board should go beyond meeting twice a year and operate the decision-making mechanism effectively.

Request for Justice in Retirement and 3600 Additional Indicator

The unions also addressed the pension system, one of the most important problems in the public personnel system. Tonbul emphasized that Law No. 5510 has victimized public servants and that their pensions have declined to 45% of their salaries. Key adjustments requested:

• Pension Improvement: Bringing pensions to a fair level.

• 3600 Additional Indicator: Realization of 3600 additional indicators for 1st degree.

• Compensation Rates: Fair regulation of compensation reflection rates.

• Contracted personnel who started working before October 1, 2008 and then became staff members: The start date of contracted personnel who started working before October 1, 2008 and then became staff members should be accepted as the date they started working in the public sector in terms of pension.

Other Prioritized Demands from the Civil Servants' Union and the Public Sector Union of Turkey

Tonbul stated that despite the declaration of 2025 as the "Year of Family", the necessary steps have not been taken and brought up many issues waiting for a solution. The most important and common demands were listed as follows:

• Spring Bonus: "The misconception that public servants are the only segment of working life who do not receive bonuses should be put to an end. Spring bonus should also be given to civil servants."

• Abolition of the Interview: The interview, which is applied in initial appointments and promotion exams, should be abolished on the grounds that it leads to injustices.

• Tax Bracket: Fixing the tax brackets of public employees at 15% for the sake of fairness. End the deduction of income tax from revolving funds, additional courses and overtime.

• Auxiliary Services Class: Removal of the Auxiliary Services Class and transfer of personnel to appropriate service classes.

• Engineering Profession Law: Improving the financial and personal rights of personnel with titles such as engineers, lawyers, veterinarians, biologists, etc. and enacting the Engineering Profession Law.

Minister Isikhan: "Commission to be Established to Solve Problems"

Minister of Labor and Social Security Vedat Işıkhan emphasized the importance of social dialogue mechanism in his speech. Stating that the 8th Term Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations and the decisions of the Arbitration Board have led to important gains, Minister Işıkhan stated that the ministry is ready to take all kinds of steps to solve the problems. Within the scope of the decision taken at the meeting, it was announced that a sub-commission will be established with the participation of public institutions and organizations and social partners to work on the problems brought to the agenda.