CHP holds 'labor rally' in worker hub Gebze

KOCAELİ

The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) staged a rally on June 30 in Kocaeli's Gebze district, a hub of blue-collar workers in Türkiye's northwest, to amplify calls for improved wages and pensions.

Under the banner "We can't make ends meet," the rally drew a crowd including minimum-wage earners, workers below that threshold and white-collar employees.

CHP leader Özgür Özel led the charge, pressing the government to address the pressing need for wage increases and pension adjustments.

He criticized the government's reluctance to revise policies amid economic hardships.

Government officials have recently announced no interim wage hike this year, prompting renewed criticism from a CHP delegation led by deputy leader Yalçın Karatepe during a meeting with Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek last week.

Karatepe and his team also presented proposals to advocate for a "fairer tax system."

The "labor rally" was part of a broader series of thematic rallies by the CHP, which has also engaged with teachers, retirees and agricultural producers in recent months.

The gatherings follow notable gains by the CHP in the March 31 polls, where it secured around 37 percent of the votes, surpassing the ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) 35 percent.

This marked the first time the CHP outperformed the AKP, achieving the highest number of votes.

The push for economic reform follows high-level talks between CHP and government officials, including meetings between Özel and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

This was the first direct engagement between AKP and CHP leaders since 2016. Erdoğan later paid a return visit to Özel on June 11.