Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan delivered a speech at the 13th Meeting of Labor Assembly, held at the Exhibition Hall of the Presidential Complex, focusing on the theme of ‘The Future of Labor, Union Organizing, and Employment.’

During his address, Erdoğan emphasized the significant strides made in various sectors over the past 21 years to improve labor rights, wages, and employment opportunities. He highlighted the collaborative efforts taken to enact regulations pertaining to labor law, social security reform, occupational health and safety, and union rights.

One notable achievement mentioned by Erdoğan was the substantial increase in the minimum wage, reaching TL17,002 in 2024, representing a 49% increase since July and a 100% increase since January. He also noted the implementation of minimum wage support, which has been raised to TL700 per insured person as of July 2024.

Moreover, Erdoğan underscored the government's commitment to promoting employment, stating that Turkey has reached an all-time high in employment figures, with 32.423 million individuals currently employed.

Regarding union rights, Erdoğan highlighted the reforms made through the Law on Unions and Collective Bargaining, including amendments to outdated legislation dating back to 1983. He emphasized the constitutional protection granted to civil servants' right to collective bargaining and the increase in the number of union-member workers from 1 million in 2013 to 2.5 million presently.

The President concluded by emphasizing the government's efforts to facilitate collective bargaining processes and ensure fair treatment for workers and civil servants, including the provision of collective bargaining bonuses to union-member civil servants on a quarterly basis. (ILKHA)