01.05.2025 11:20
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with workers at the Presidential Complex on the occasion of May 1st Labor and Solidarity Day. Erdoğan stated, "Protecting the rights of our workers has always been our fundamental priority. We have mobilized all our resources to raise the welfare levels of our workers and employers and to ensure that trade unions can continue their activities."
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan received representatives of workers, civil servants, and employers at the Presidential Complex on the occasion of May 1st Labor and Solidarity Day. Expressing his pleasure in meeting with workers, Erdoğan said, "I congratulate all our workers on May 1st Labor and Solidarity Day together with you."
Expressing his gratitude to everyone who works hard, struggles, and sacrifices for the growth of the country, the strengthening of the nation, and the progress of Turkey, President Erdoğan stated, "I pray to my Lord for halal, good, and blessed earnings for each of our workers and employers, and I say may He not waste their efforts."
President Erdoğan emphasized that labor has a great sanctity in faith, history, and culture, stating, "There is an important place for giving effort, not wasting it, and working patiently in our reaching these days as a nation. We are the heirs of an understanding that has adorned the civilization we built by centering labor and sweat with exemplary work ethics. Our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said in a hadith: 'No one has ever eaten a better meal than that which he has earned with his own hands.'
President Erdoğan pointed out that there is a historical understanding where labor receives the respect it deserves, where workers can claim their rights, and where the weak are not oppressed by the strong, stating, "Our history, where labor receives the respect it deserves, where workers claim their rights, and where the weak are not oppressed by the strong, has been shaped in the light of this truth. Protecting the rights of our workers who enrich their efforts with sweat has always been our fundamental priority. We mobilized all our resources to raise the welfare levels of our workers and employers and to ensure that unions can continue their activities. With this understanding, we have implemented the necessary laws and regulations one by one over the last 23 years. We have significantly improved union rights by re-evaluating them. We have accelerated and made our employment policies more effective," he explained.
Stating that comprehensive reforms covering all actors in working life have been made, President Erdoğan noted that they have implemented innovations prioritizing equal opportunities for all segments, and that they have clearly demonstrated their sensitivity regarding the protection of workers' rights and law not only through their words but also through the recent efforts they have accelerated. President Erdoğan expressed that they declared May 1st as Labor and Solidarity Day, making it an official holiday, which was previously banned by the single-party mentality. Erdoğan stated that the Law on Trade Unions and Collective Bargaining has been revised to make the collective bargaining system more inclusive, and that public employees have also been enabled to benefit from the right to collective bargaining. He mentioned that the conditions for the establishment of unions, which previously struggled with various difficulties, have been eased, union protections have been strengthened, and the right to strike has been placed on a rational basis. He noted that with the enactment of the Occupational Health and Safety Law, working conditions and the measures to be taken have been improved to the maximum extent. He expressed that subcontracted workers and contracted personnel working in municipalities have been given the opportunity for permanent positions, and that the collective bargaining bonuses, which were annulled by the main opposition party at the Constitutional Court, have been reinstated more robustly. President Erdoğan also stated that the ban on headscarves in public institutions has been lifted, calling this practice a disgrace for the country. He noted that the way for public employees to fully benefit from their rights to worship, including Friday prayers and pilgrimage permissions, has been opened, and that the income tax on the minimum wage, which was increased by 30% this year, has been abolished, and the minimum wage support for employers continues.
President Erdoğan stated that they have implemented countless projects, services, and investments to date, and expressed that they will continue to work with the same determination, desire, and decisiveness in the future. Erdoğan said they will carry Turkey to stronger tomorrows together with workers and employers, farmers and producers, unions, and all employees. He emphasized that they will make every effort to ensure that the Century of Turkey is the century of labor and sweat, saying, "May God be our helper." Erdoğan concluded his speech by congratulating everyone again on May 1st Labor and Solidarity Day.
Attending the program at the Presidential Complex were Minister of Labor and Social Security Vedat Işıkhan, Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek, TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, TESK President Bendevi Palandöken, TÜRK-İŞ President Ergün Atalay, HAK-İŞ President Mahmut Arslan, Memur-Sen President Ali Yalçın, TİSK Board Chairman Özgür Burak Akkol, Türkiye Kamu-Sen President Önder Kahveci, TZOB President Şemsi Bayraktar, and workers from various sectors.
After the program, participants also took the floor to share their opinions.