Demonstration for 'justice in retirement'

The Retirement Justice Association (EMADDER) held a demonstration in Kartal Square, İstanbul on Sunday (January 21). Demonstrators stated that those who became insured after September 9, 1999 had become victims and they demanded gradual retirement age arrangements, citing the grievances of the affected individuals. Additionally, they called for an increase in retirement pensions to a sustainable level.

A regulation was introduced in March 3, removing the age requirement for retirement for those who started insured employment before September 8, 1999.

CHP Trabzon Deputy Sibel Suiçmez, Giresun Deputy Elvan Işık Gezmiş, Istanbul Deputy of the Democrat Party Cemal Enginyurt, and the General President of the Confederation of Revolutionary Workers' Unions (DİSK), Arzu Çerkezoğlu also atttended the demonstration. 

In her speech during the demonstration, the president of EMADDER, Mihriban Uğurlu, stated that they lost 17 years overnight with the new retirement regulation. She said, "We aged 17 years in one night. Going to work, we felt that our efforts were in vain. We found ourselves at the highest level of insignificance and exclusion in our own country. We felt like second-class citizens."

"You cannot steal our future"

Uğurlu added, "You disrupted the working peace in our workplaces, but enough is enough." She continued:

"The cost of waiting for 17-20 years for retirement, how can it be measured? We do not seek charity, favor, or advantage. We worked very hard, we put in the effort. How can someone who has worked longer and at the same age retire 17-20 years later? Where does this fit in any conscience or justice? The state must be obliged to provide fair justice to its citizens. You cannot separate us or steal our future by presenting a magical date in history.

"While March 3, 2023, was a celebration for some, it became a funeral for others of the same age or even older, who worked even more. What kind of law did you enact that grievances are pouring in from everywhere? Your silence and ignorance, despite your knowledge, cannot cover up the wrong decisions you've made.

"Is it fair to demand the retirement age in foreign countries while employing in drastically different conditions? Is there a 20-year gap among peers for retirement in foreign countries? When you search for "retirement abroad" on a search engine, you find skiing, trips, and tours, but when you search for "retirement in Turkey," people carrying burdens on their backs, working for their daily bread, appear. Isn't this a disgrace? A pension below the poverty line imposed on retirees is a shame for this country.

"We are not here for this shame, not for the impossible survival pension that awaits us, but for justice. The greatest injustice was done to us. We don't have 20 years to give to anyone."

Uğurlu addressed President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the government, and the political parties in the parliament. She said, "To remain silent in the face of this injustice is to be complicit in it. Justice delayed is not justice."

Çerkezoğlu: "Regulations must be fair"

Arzu Çerkezoğlu, the President of DİSK, also spoke at the demonstration, stating, "We are standing up for our retirement rights. We contribute values to this country and generate values." Çerkezoğlu, who emphasized that retiring after a certain period of work and living a humane life after retirement are citizenship rights, expressed disappointment that in this country, both retiring and being able to live after retirement have become nearly impossible. She acknowledged that leaders can make regulations, but these regulations must be fair. She stressed the need to eliminate all injustices and deemed it unacceptable for the right to retirement to be postponed by 17 years in a single day. She called for an immediate reversal of this mistake, acknowledging that the fight for retirement justice is an honorable struggle. (HA/PE)