Organized by our confederation DİSK, the “Enough is Enough, We Want to Live” rally was held in Istanbul on 12 December 2021.
In addition to the members of DİSK-affiliated unions, many workers attended the rally held in Kartal. In addition, political parties and various democratic mass organizations also gave support.
The union members, who gathered at the meeting points from 12 o’clock, marched to the rally square, accompanied by slogans and marches, in a cortege, which also included the DİSK board of directors and union boards of directors.
After the area was completely filled, the artist Ilkay Akkaya supported the enthusiasm of the workers with his songs. There was a great wave of excitement with the songs sung together and the dance dances.
DISK Chairman Dr. Arzu Çerkezoğlu mentioned the following in her speech at the rally:
We, the working class of Turkey, are earning Turkish Lira. As the exchange rate increases, everything from needles to threads goes up. As the Turkish lira loses value, we are getting poorer every day.
Our labor is getting cheaper, our purchasing power is decreasing.
This country needs a workers’ spring. Workers must stand up not only for our bread, but also for justice and democracy.
The biggest injustice in Turkey is the minimum wage.
TURKSTAT avoided calculating, we did not. In a four-person household, the poverty line is exceeded with only 5,200 liras.
Taxes and deductions should be removed from the minimum wage and all wages equal to the minimum wage amount, and an additional support of 1,000 lira should be offered to all wages.
The most important way for the working class to compensate for the loss of income is the right to union and strike. All legal and de facto barriers to the exercise of these rights must be removed.
We are the real owners of this country. We produce all the values in this country. We are starting the war of liberation of labor from slavery here today.
