Arbitration Board completed its notary role: Public employees abandoned to poverty

Labour Service

6.5 million citizens, public employees and retirees, were condemned to poverty with the decision of the Arbitration Board, which stands as a ‘notary’ in the public sector. Meeting for the fourth time yesterday on the 8th Term Collective Bargaining Agreement in the public sector, the Board acted as the approver of the AKP government’s policies that impoverish labourers.

According to the decision, the offer of 11%+7% for 2026 did not change. For the first half of 2027 it was increased by only 1 point. The offer placed on the table by the Board was approved as follows: 11% for the first half of 2026, 7% for the second half, 5% for the first half of 2027, 4% for the second half, and an increase of 1,000 TL in base salaries for the first half of 2026.

Seven of its 11 members were directly appointed by AKP President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. A decision was possible only with Memur-Sen and Kamu-Sen sitting at the table. Although confederations had declared “We will not sit at the table”, their presence at the Board for four days enabled the quorum for meetings and decisions.

PRO-GOVERNMENT CONFEDERATIONS WALKED OUT

According to information obtained by BirGün, the Board’s insistence on the government’s signalled rates broke the talks. Memur-Sen and Kamu-Sen left the table during the meeting, although they had been sitting there at the beginning. Their presence at the beginning allowed the decision to be taken even without them. Anticipating the outcome, the confederations left the table without taking any step to change the result. BirGün columnist Prof Dr Aziz Çelik also drew attention to the confederations’ partnership, saying “If they had not attended the meeting, the Board could not have taken a decision. Every meeting must begin with at least 8 members. But once it begins, withdrawing is nothing but cheap demagogy and show. It produces no result. The meeting continues and decisions are taken by majority of those present. Memur-Sen and Kamu-Sen are partners in this decision together with the Government”.

Memur-Sen’s statement after leaving the table was also confusing. In a post on its social media account the confederation said “In the collective agreement that ended in deadlock, 58 gains we recorded in the meeting minutes were voted in the Arbitration Board. With our reactions and insistence at the Board, some positive steps were taken, but they do not solve the problem. We withdrew from the Arbitration Board”. Yet, it is impossible to re-vote already agreed 58 articles, and only 3 of the mentioned ones are new.

KESK reminded that they had previously called on confederations not to sit at the table at all, and announced they were preparing for a bigger resistance. KESK Co-Chair Ayfer Koçak, criticising the confederations’ withdrawal, said “Their withdrawal today could only mean something if the entire Arbitration Board resigned, in other words this withdrawal means nothing. The given offer is now in effect”.

25 MILLION LEFT IN POVERTY

Orhan Yıldırım, President of Birleşik Kamu-İş, which from the start refused to send members to the Arbitration Board, reacted to the decision. Announcing they would continue the struggle, Yıldırım said “The Central Bank’s inflation forecast for 2027 was 9%, that’s what they gave. We had said an arbitration board with 7 members appointed by the President cannot be. We could not convince Memur-Sen and Kamu-Sen delegations. As a result, Memur-Sen and Kamu-Sen declared they withdrew, but it was too late. The quorum was 8, and the meeting began with more than that. Withdrawing afterwards has no legal meaning. The Arbitration Board’s decision covers the wage increases for 2026-2027. It was not given by a 7-member arbitration board. It was given by the President who appointed the Arbitration Board that left 25 million hungry and poor”.

Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Hakem Heyeti noter rolünü tamamladı: Kamu emekçileri sefalete terk edildi, published in BirGün newspaper on August , 2025.