Important Announcement Regarding Bank Promotion Tenders

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING BANK PROMOTION TENDERS

This announcement is addressed to all artists employed at State Symphony Orchestras, State Choirs and other arts institutions affiliated with the General Directorate of Fine Arts of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Artists employed at public institutions have the right to expect that the financial value generated on their behalf during salary-promotion tenders — conducted as part of the process by which their salaries are paid through banks — is distributed fairly. To provide legal guarantees for this process, Prime Ministry Circular No. 2007/21, published on 20 July 2007 in Official Gazette No. 26588, remains in force. Under this circular, a three-person commission is established for salary payment protocols to be concluded between public institutions and banks; and where at least ten percent of an institution's employees are union members, it is mandatory for a representative of the authorised union to sit on this commission. This regulation is grounded not merely in the existence of a union, but in the direct protection of workers' personal rights.

This circular was updated by Prime Ministry Circular No. 2008/18, which stipulated that promotion payments must be transferred directly and equally to the bank accounts of personnel. Subsequently, Circular No. 2010/17 introduced the rule that the full amount of promotion payments must be paid to personnel, and any deduction or allocation of a share to the institution was prohibited. Employees thus became directly entitled to the full amount of bank promotions.

Alongside these circulars, Article 19 of Law No. 4688 on Public Employees' Unions and Collective Bargaining explicitly defines the authority of authorised unions to represent their members on financial and social rights matters. Law No. 657 on Civil Servants also guarantees the rights of public officials to participate in and be represented by union activities.

Within this legal framework, the presence of a union is not merely a matter of representation — it is also a statutory oversight mechanism concerning the artist's personal rights. The union representative on the commission ensures that all bids are evaluated in accordance with the principles of equity and fairness, monitors the process on behalf of the artists within the institution, and guarantees transparency. Tender processes conducted without a union representative constitute a violation of the applicable regulations and provide grounds for legal annulment.

As Kültür Emekçileri Sendikası, we wish to emphasise that one of the most important purposes for which unions are established is to protect the interests of their members. We recommend that all our members working in arts institutions pay close attention to their interests and legal obligations in this matter, and that they request — first verbally, and in writing if necessary — that institution management include a union representative on the promotion commission.

Do not forget: union membership is not merely a formality — it is one of the most important tools for protecting the fair return on the artist's labour.

We respectfully bring this to your attention.