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Retirees gathered in Istanbul's Kartal Square on Sunday, September 24, following the call of the Confederation of Progressive Workers' Unions (DİSK) for a "Retirees Meeting." The rally, attended by DİSK President Arzu Çerkezoğlu and the DİSK Board of Directors, saw retirees coming together, chanting slogans like "We won't surrender to poverty" and "Speak up, retirement is a right."
In addition to DİSK-affiliated unions and retirees' organizations, numerous political parties and democratic organizations also showed their support for the event.
The first speech at the rally was delivered by DİSK General Secretary Adnan Serdaroğlu, who emphasized that there are approximately 15 million retirees in Turkey, and many of them are forced to live below the poverty line.
He stated, "Retirees in this country are rebelling against this situation. They want to live a dignified life. We don't want to be sentenced to a life dictated by the whims of a single President. We want to live decently. They have turned this beautiful country into a prison for retirees. They no longer want their grandchildren to visit because they can't afford to give them pocket money. That's why we are saying we won't stay silent. Together, with unity and strength, we will strive to create a system where retirees can live with dignity and workers will be able to retire."
DİSK President Arzu Çerkezoğlu
Following Serdaroğlu's speech, DİSK President Arzu Çerkezoğlu took the stage. She reminded the audience of the legal amendments made in 1999 and 2008, against the vested rights of employees concerning retirement. She highlighted that retirees who lost their hard-won retirement rights due to those regulations fought relentlessly and achieved gains in the run-up to elections.
Çerkezoğlu said, "They called it a cost, a burden, but those affected by the retirement age issue, with the consciousness that retirement is a right, expanded this struggle with determination, and a regulation was finally made." However, she noted that there are still thousands of people who haven't received their retirement pensions among them.
Continuing her speech, Çerkezoğlu pointed out that millions of retirees are forced to live on a pension of 7,500 lira (259 Euro), stating, "Retirees are never a cost or a burden for a country. Just as a country supports its retirees, it promises a future to its youth. Turkey does not deserve this. Base pensions remain at 4,500-5,000 liras. In the July increases, millions of our retiree friends didn't receive even a single lira of additional payment. Every retiree should be given a wage that allows them to live with dignity."
"Severance pay is our red line"
Çerkezoğlu highlighted that the government's Medium-Term Program aims to privatize the social security system under the guise of a "Complementary Retirement System" while also tampering with severance pay. Alongside the crowd, she chanted the slogan, "Dying is an option, surrendering severance pay is not."
Çerkezoğlu concluded her speech by stating, "Severance pay is our earned right. It's a legacy for our children. Severance pay is our last line of defense, our red line. We will never surrender it."
Under the severance pay regulation, an employee who is terminated from their job or voluntarily resigns due to retirement after a certain period of employment is entitled to receive a lump sum payment from the employer in Turkey. This payment is calculated based on the employee's length of service, and it amounts to one month's gross salary for each year of employment. (VC/PE)
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