Physician Union announces three-day protest in Turkey

The Physician Union (Hekim Birliği Sendikası) has announced a three-day protest action scheduled for September 28, 29, and 30, 2026. The union is demanding improvements to economic and personal rights, better working conditions, and increased safety within healthcare institutions.

Specific protest measures include refusing to provide outpatient services to patients who do not have appointments through the Central Physician Appointment System (MHRS). Additionally, the union plans to enforce minimum appointment intervals of at least 10 minutes for general outpatient services and 30 minutes for dental clinics.

The union’s five primary demands include: • Increasing physician on-call wages to reflect professional responsibilities. • Eliminating incentive deductions during annual leave. • Increasing incentive distribution rates for dentists and physicians in secondary and tertiary healthcare facilities to at least 36%. • Doubling fixed additional payments and ensuring they are fully reflected in retirement benefits. • Removing financial deductions for family physicians during leave and providing assignment fees for those providing proxy services.

The union also cited a lack of effective security measures to prevent firearms and sharp objects from entering public health facilities, which they claim threatens the lives of medical professionals.