Tension in the collective bargaining process of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality employees

The tension escalated as civil servants on strike tried to enter the hall where the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Council meeting was held, following the failure to reach an agreement in the collective bargaining negotiations between Izmir Metropolitan Municipality and All Bel-Sen. In the meantime, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality issued a written statement regarding the matter.

During the negotiations held today between the union and the municipality, civil servants who decided to take action due to the municipality’s borderline offer gathered in front of the Council Chamber located in Kültürpark before the municipal council meeting. Union representatives and civil servants chanted slogans such as ‘Where is the president, the workers are here’, ‘Not charity but collective agreement’, ‘Workers are here, where is Cemil Tugay?’, ‘If there is no bread for us, there will be no peace for you’, ‘The victory will belong to the resisting worker’.

Riot police intervened
When the civil servants tried to enter the hall where the municipal council meeting would take place, tension arose between the officials and the workers. Some officials were injured during the tension, and as the situation escalated, riot police intervened with shields against the civil servants. The civil servants who broke the doors came up to the entrance of the council chamber.

Reactions to council members
The civil servants who staged the protest showed their reaction to the council members after the council meeting. The civil servants, as Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Deputy Mayor Zafer Levent Yıldır was trying to leave the building in his vehicle after chairing the council meeting, surrounded him, stating that they were promised before the local elections that a good collective bargaining agreement would be signed if the election was won, but this promise was not fulfilled. The civil servants demanded an apology from Yıldır, and after the apology, they allowed Yıldır to leave. The civil servants also expressed their dissatisfaction with Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Deputy Secretary General Zeki Yıldırım using the same words. It was learned that the civil servants will stage a full-day strike tomorrow.

On the other hand, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality made a statement regarding the issue in bullet points. The statement made is as follows:
‘1. The disagreement is about the Social Balance Compensation agreement between the Civil Servants’ Union All Bel Sen and the municipal administration.
2. It is not compulsory by law to provide Social Balance Compensation to Civil Servants; whether to provide it or not is left to the decision of the institution management by law, but a legal ‘upper limit’ has been set.
3. In the 2022 and 2023 Court of Accounts (Sayıştay) reports, it has been determined that Social Balance Compensations exceeding the legal limit cause public loss.
4. In the assessment made by our municipality, it was concluded that it would be correct to pay compensation within the legally defined upper limit in the social balance compensation agreement to be made with the civil servants’ union due to the request for defense in the recent Court of Accounts audit and the absence of a possibility of amnesty in the near future.
5. In order for a contract to be signed with the amount demanded by the union, the government needs to lift the upper limit or the figures demanded by the civil servants’ union need to be reduced. Exceeding the legal upper limit in the contract will put the municipal administration in a responsible position. The removal of assets for more than 6000 civil servants working in Izmir Metropolitan Municipality may cause distressing results for all parties.
6. Due to the dissatisfaction arising from our decision not to exceed the legal limit in the Social Balance Compensation, the action taken during office hours today within the municipal service building, aiming to hinder the work of the municipality and the council, is completely illegal. The actions of those responsible for causing damage will be subject to legal scrutiny, evidence and records will be evaluated by the inspection board. It is also understood that there will be personal complaints to the judicial authorities due to the behaviors and physical interventions some of our employees have been subjected to. All complaints will be closely monitored by the municipal administration.’