ANKARA - KESK, DİSK, TTB and TMMOB called for a joint fight against the "public savings package".

 

Confederation of Public Employees' Unions (KESK), Confederation of Revolutionary Trade Unions (DİSK), Turkish Medical Association (TTB) and Union of Chambers of Mechanical Engineers of Turkey (TMMOB) made a statement regarding the "Public Efficiency and Savings Circular" announced by the government. Making a joint statement at the Parliament Park in Çankaya district, KESK Co-Chair Ahmet Karagöz said that for 22 years, the government has been trying to govern the country with reforms and similar programs, and each time these have resulted in regulations that further aggravate the problems experienced by the people who earn their living and the people.

 

Reminding that another package called "Public Efficiency and Savings Circular" was announced on May 13, Karagöz said: "However, when we look at the content of the package that was packaged and put on the market with these polished concepts, the picture changes completely. When we ask and answer these questions, the content of the package in question becomes clearer. Is there any waste? Why do we need savings? If there is waste, what is the source of this waste? What and where will be saved depending on the package? Who will make the savings? Who will tighten their belts? If the public is inefficient, who is responsible? What will be done to increase efficiency? The answers to these questions are clear to us. Yes, there has been waste in this country for years."

 

'RESOURCES ARE BEING USED FOR WEAPONS'

 

Pointing out that the country's resources have been spent on plundering cities, destroying nature, and armament for years, "Taxes that should be collected from the capital, bosses, and the rich are erased in one fell swoop with exemptions, discounts, exceptions, and amnesty. Under the name of Public Private Partnership Project, it is transferred to the contractors of city hospitals, airports, roads and bridges. Millions of dollars are being spent as a guarantee from the Public Purse" Karagöz said.

 

'ONE IN FIVE PEOPLE UNEMPLOYED'

 

Emphasizing that the resources allocated to public services and investments will be further reduced according to the package, Karagöz said: "In this case, public service units such as new schools, hospitals, nurseries and shelters will not be opened for the next 3 years. Recruitment of public personnel is limited only by the number of retirees and those who have lost their lives. Therefore, it will be almost impossible for young people, 1 in 5 of whom are unemployed, to get a job in the public sector for the next 3 years."

 

CALL FOR JOINT STRUGGLE

 

"If the goal is to really save money, the country's resources must be prevented from being transferred to the 1 percent at the expense of further impoverishment of 99 percent of the society" said Karagöz, and call all segments of society to fight shoulder to shoulder against the "savings package".