Labor unions are awaiting a proposal for the public contract before the end of the month. Worker unions are urging the government to present its initial wage proposal before the end of May under the Public Collective Labor Agreements Framework Protocol, where the wage increase for approximately 600,000 public workers will be determined. The process is ongoing for the 2025 Public Collective Labor Agreements Framework Protocol negotiations, which cover around 600,000 workers in institutions such as highways, railways, power plants, ministries, universities, and hospitals. The negotiations, which began with TÜRK-İŞ and HAK-İŞ jointly submitting a wage demand on February 27 to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, brought together the employee and employer sides under TÜHİS hosting on April 16 and 24, and May 16. Following negotiations on administrative issues, cost analyses were conducted by TÜHİS. The study is expected to be evaluated by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, after which an initial proposal to the workers is expected to be made in the coming days. “THE OFFER IS NECESSARY TO START THE NEGOTIATION PROCESS”

TÜRK-İŞ Deputy General President Ramazan Ağar, in his statement to AA, recalled that they presented a draft containing their demands to the government on February 27, noting that no wage proposal had been received from the government in the intervening period. Expressing their discomfort with the absence of a proposal and the extension of the contract process, Ağar stated: “We have been awaiting a proposal from the government for about 3 months. Our eyes are on the attitude of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, and our ears are on TÜHİS’s call. We are on the verge of a strike process in many workplaces, and the first proposal must definitely come to the table before the end of May. The proposal’s arrival is necessary to start the negotiation process. We focus on the future proposal with 600,000 workers, along with their families, including 2-3 million people. We expect the government to make a proposal that meets our expectations.” 50% WAGE DEMAND

In the draft prepared jointly by TÜRK-İŞ and HAK-İŞ, it was requested to raise the minimum daily wage to 1800 Turkish Liras, followed by a 50% wage increase for the first half of 2025, a 25% raise for other six-month periods, and an additional 10% welfare share. The Public Collective Labor Agreements Framework Protocol, which will determine the wage increase for approximately 600,000 public workers, is important in the sense that it also concerns all other agreements. At the forefront of these agreements are the 8th Period Collective Agreement negotiations that concern around 4 million civil servants and 2.5 million retired civil servants. This Protocol also applies to private sector collective agreements to be signed, including Turkey Metal Industrialists’ Union (MESS) Group Collective Labor Agreement, which covers more than 160,000 workers.