Turkish unions call for fair wages amid civil servant income gap

Mehmet Alper Öğretici, President of the Confederation of Independent Public Servants' Unions (BASK) and the Anadolu Education Union, has raised concerns regarding the growing income gap between civil servants and public workers in Turkey.

According to union reports, the average monthly income for civil servants ranges between 70,000 and 80,000 TL. In contrast, public workers in similar office and service units can earn between 95,000 and 125,000 TL when including bonuses, overtime, and social benefits.

Öğretici argues that this disparity creates a system where higher education and passing competitive exams, such as the KPSS, are effectively penalized. He noted that while the union respects all forms of labor, the current structure undermines meritocracy and responsibility-based compensation, particularly when university graduates and non-graduates perform the same duties in the same environments.