Those who were issued a decree should be reinstated

News Center

The Confederation of Public Employees' Unions ( KESK ) will march to Ankara to demand the reinstatement of public employees dismissed by statutory decrees ( KHKs ). The march , which will begin today in Diyarbakır, will pass through Urfa, Gaziantep, Adıyaman, Adana, and Mersin before concluding in Ankara on October 17th.

LET THE ARBITRARINESS END

Saliha Zorlu, co-chair of the Diyarbakır Branch No. 1 of the Education and Science Workers' Union (Eğitim Sen), a union affiliated with KESK, told Evrensel that over 150,000 public workers were dismissed in 2016 under statutory decrees issued during the state of emergency . She said, "During this period, over 4,200 of our members from KESK-affiliated unions were also suspended from their positions. The majority of our members received acquittals or decisions of non-prosecution from the judiciary, but despite this, they were not reinstated. We will continue to march to end this arbitrary legal practice."

LAW MUST BE ESTABLISHED

Zorlu stated that despite the official end of the state of emergency, the consequences have not been addressed. "Turkey has closed the state of emergency process, but the consequences of the state of emergency continue," he said. "Public workers who have been fighting a legal battle for nine years still haven't been able to return to their jobs." Recalling that a new peace process is being discussed, Zorlu said, "The injustices that public workers, who demand peace today and defend labor rights, experienced during that period must be remedied. We demand job security, life security, and working conditions worthy of human dignity."