TÜİK workers demand job security, better pay

The Turkish Statistical Institute’s (TÜIK) 2,500 employees are struggling to make ends meet without any job security, since they are considered temporary survey employees and their contracts are renewed on an annual basis.

Today, employees at TÜIK, the repository of all kinds of important Turkish macro economic data like inflation, growth and unemployment, will hit the streets to demand better working conditions and compensation.

TÜIK employees do not even receive the lowest civil worker wage, which is 1,635 Turkish Liras. High school graduates  earn 965 liras per month and those who hold a university degree earn 1,050 lira, according to
information disclosed by TÜÝK employees. These wages do not include a food or transportation allowance either.

There are even some employees who have retired from the institution after 25 years of service, but still appear to be transitory workers. Furthermore, those whose contracts are terminated do not receive a severance package and employees who work overtime are not compensated.