Thousands against Social Security Reform
By Dorte on Wednesday, April 2 2008, 15:09 - Permalink
On Monday (April 1), 5000 people in Istanbul alone followed a call by various labour unions to protest against the government’s draft law on fundamental changes in the Turkish health and pension system. Further protests have been announced for Saturday, April 6.
In Kadıköy, on the Asian side of Istanbul, around 2000 people gathered. On the European side, an estimated number of 3000 people demonstrated in Çağlayan in front of the the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) building.
What’s it all about?
Turkey’s health and pension system is deep in debt. In order to guarantee the provision of social benefits to those in need, the Turkish government has to invest around YTL 30 billion this year. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said: „We can no longer postpone the reform. The current social security system is no longer sustainable.” The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been demanding these cutbacks – which the Turkish government now passed to the parliament – for several years. The EU shows impatience. Meanwhile Turkish labour unions warn against overhasty decisions.
The biggest stumbling block to an agreement is the government’s plan to increase the retirement age from now 58 (for women) and 60 (for men) to 65 years. It is a fact, however, that Turkey has the lowest retirement age of all OECD member states. Furthermore, the Turkish population is getting older: Life expectancy for men is now 75, for women 76.
According to the government’s draft law everyone who is subject to social insurance contribution will receive health and pension insurance from the newly founded National Social Security Agency. Union representatives, however, expressed warnings and concerns that the new regulation will in fact put workers in a worse position. They might even lose the status – and thus their claims for retirement benefits – which they have earned for themselves earlier.
Remarkable is also that currently more than a third of all people over 65 in Turkey do not have any entitlement to a pension. Half of all employees in Turkey work without legal and social security in the informal sector.
An agreement could be reached in terms of reducing the number of days that a person has to work in order to be eligible for retirement benefits from 9000 (as the government initially suggested) to only 7200 days. It is currently at 7000.
The government’s reform package is supposed to be implemented in August 2008. Given that a decision has been reached (and given that there is still a working government … the Constitutional Court is currently discussing the Chief Prosecutors claim to ban the ruling party and the indictment of several party members).
What happened earlier…
In March, thousands of workers all across Turkey laid down their work for two hours: between 10 and 12 in the morning teachers, doctors, nurses, cleaning staff, bus drivers went on strike. Airplanes remained in waiting position. Even some news agencies joined the protest and halted their services for 15 minutes (and reported exclusively on the protest). It was the first mass strike in Turkey in decades.
Dorte HUNEKE