Thousands of Turkish civil servants staged a nationwide strike on Monday to protest what they called ‘insufficient’ government pay offers, amid a cost-of-living crisis that has hit public sector workers particularly hard.
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| Turkey’s civil servants strike over paltry pay rises Turkey’s civil servants strike over paltry pay rises Turkey’s civil servants strike over paltry pay rises |
The strike was led by four major public sector unions – Memur-Sen, Kamu-Sen, Birleşik Kamu-İş, and KESK – as part of the eighth round of collective bargaining talks with the government. Workers walked off the job and staged marches and rallies in front of key government buildings in Istanbul, Ankara, and other cities.
Government pay offer rejected
The government had proposed a series of incremental raises: a 10% increase for the first six months of 2026, 6% for the second half, and 4% for each half of 2027. In a follow-up meeting, officials also offered a 1,000 Turkish lira ($24) increase to the minimum monthly wage for civil servants. Unions rejected both proposals as insufficient, saying the offers failed to match soaring living costs.
Ali Yalçın, head of Memur-Sen, said the base salary was a critical issue affecting both current staff and retirees. “We requested the minimum wage start at 10,000 lira (around $240) so negotiations could start from there. A 1,000-lira increase is far from adequate. Our unions will make that clear in the field,” he said.
Other union leaders echoed his concerns, highlighting growing inequality between public sector employees and the urgent need to restore “income justice.”
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Disrupted transport
The strike significantly disrupted public services, with İzmir’s commuter rail system (İZBAN) suspending all trains for the day as staff joined the walkout. TCDD, the national rail operator, which runs both intercity and commuter services, warned commuters to plan ahead. İZBAN, the busiest commuter rail system in Turkey, serves the metropolitan area of İzmir with a daily ridership of 185,000.
Economic backdrop
Turkey’s economic crisis has intensified in recent years. Since 2021, the country has faced hyperinflation, with consumer prices surging more than 150% in some years, sharply eroding purchasing power. The lira has plunged in value against the dollar, hitting record lows and prompting widespread hardship, particularly among retirees and low-income workers who have seen their purchasing power eroded dramatically.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling AKP party has lost support in recent elections, partly due to stagnant pensions and the rising cost of living. Low public sector pay has become a flashpoint for social unrest, as civil servants demand salaries that reflect soaring prices for food, fuel, and basic goods.
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Union warnings
KESK co-chair Ahmet Karagöz condemned the government’s offer, saying it “falls far short of what is needed for civil servants to maintain a decent standard of living.” Similarly, Faruk Doğan, head of Sağlık-Sen, the health workers’ union, argued that the 1,000-lira increase was wholly inadequate for doctors, nurses, midwives, paramedics, social workers, engineers, and teachers alike.
The unions have vowed to continue pushing for higher wages and fairer pay scales, warning that without a meaningful increase, public sector unrest could escalate.
