DISK criticizes work reform package

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an is expected to unveil a reform package on women’s employment after the Eid al-Adha.

DISK (Confederation of Revolutionary Workers’ Unions) Secretary General and Dev Sa?l?k-?? President Arzu Çerkezo?lu spoke about the package which also includes the opening of nurseries at all public working places.

“Are there any public workers left?”, Çerkezo?lu asked, addressing to the government, and pointed out that there was scarcely any permanent and secured employment in both public and private enterprises.

“To give an example, there are over 150 thousand subcontractor workers in healthcare field alone and none of these workers can benefit from the kindergartens at public hospitals. These arrangements do not comply with the real life”, Çerkezo?lu said and added that authorities have given no answer to dozens of protest demos demanding that subcontractor women workers also benefit from kindergartens.

Çerkezo?lu stressed that the government wanted to increase women’s employment but avoided ensuring secured and equal working conditions for women, forcing them to work in unsecured environment and for lower prices than men. Çerkezo?lu pointed out that the involvement of women in the labor market aimed at supplying cheap workforce. She said the Prime Minister wanted to guarantee cheap workforce for 20 years later by directing women to have 3-5 children today.

Remarking that the package increases maternity leave from 16 weeks to 24 weeks and forces women to work half a day after the birth, Çerkezo?lu said the package would in this way make women on maternity leave work as “workers for rent” and sentence them to flexible work through private employment offices.

Çerkezo?lu underlined that they would give a joint struggle against the package on women’s employment together with other labor and women’s organizations.

---