‘Turkey unveiled 500-billion relief package, gave only 20 billion lira to workers’

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Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Vice Chair Veli Ağbaba has released a written statement and criticized the Presidential Government System, which has been in effect in Turkey since June 24, 2018.

Underlining that the system has developed no solutions for any problems in Turkey, Ağbaba has argued that it has caused Turkey to be dragged into one of the biggest economic crises it has ever faced in its history.

Labor rights have been targeted the most by the system in this process, according to Ağbaba, who has also shared the figures of the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services regarding unemployment in Turkey.

These figures show that the number of those who have lost hope for finding jobs has increased by 690 thousand people, which marks an increase from 484 thousand people to 1 million 174 thousand.

'Starvation line has increased by 42 percent'

Some highlight from his speech are as follows:

"While the starvation line has increased by 42 percent in the last two years, minimum wage has increased by only 20.5 percent.

"Almost 10 million people who have to sustain their lives depending on minimum wage have been condemned to a wage of death in the new government system. Studies have shown that while the starvation line was 1,714 lira in June 2018, it has reached 2,500 lira today.

"Suicides have increased due to financial difficulties. An average of 153 workers lost their lives per month during the Presidential Government System. While Turkey has been going through one of the gravest economic crises in its history with the new government system, the effects of the crisis are again felt by low-income families the most."

'1 million, 385 thousand workers given unpaid leave'

Within this context, main opposition CHP's Ağbaba has also referred to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. "The pandemic period has turned into a problem for workers, rather than that of health," he has noted.

Indicating that the government has put aside struggling against the virus and taken up a struggle against workers and their acquired rights instead, Ağbaba has continued as follows:

"In the pandemic period, at least 4 million 848 thousand people have suffered from a loss of income. Giving unpaid leaves has been permitted in the name of a ban on layoffs. While 1 million 353 thousand workers have been given unpaid leaves, they have been paid only 418 lira per person, instead of 1,177 lira as formerly alleged.

"Though the Ministry of Treasury and Finance announced the economic package for the pandemic as 500 billion lira with a multiplier effect, 1 million 358 thousand people given an unpaid leave, 3 million 490 thousand benefiting from short-time work allowance, 3 million 490 thousand households given 1,000 lira as social relief and 717 thousand benefiting from unemployment allowance have been given 20 billion lira in total.

"While this amount accounts for 4 percent of 500 billion lira, the statistics of the International Labor Organization (ILO) have shown that Turkey has ranked way worse than other countries of the world, where this rate is 18 percent on average. The right to make a collective labor agreement has also been unjustly suspended for three months.

"The Social Security Institution (SGK) has unlawfully declared that it will not recognize COVID-19 as an occupational accident or illness. Lastly, a possible transfer of severance pay to a fund, which has been the goal of the government for years, has been once again brought up." (HA/SD)

* As of 1 p.m. on June 22, 1 Turkish Lira (TRY) is 0.14 US Dollars.