The Demands of Cultural Workers Are Being Brought to the Collective Negotiation Table and the Ministry Meeting!

Culture Workers' Demands Are Being Carried to the Bargaining Table and to the Ministry!

On 30 April, with the participation of Birleşik Kamu-İş Confederation President Mr. Orhan Yıldırım, and under the coordination of our union Kültür Emek-Sen, we held comprehensive consultation meetings with our ballet and choir artists serving at the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet (DOB). In these meetings, held separately with our choir and ballet workers, the field's burning problems, economic expectations and possible solutions were discussed in detail.

Economic Rights and Legal Processes on the Table

The injustices in incentive and bonus practices, and the failure to reflect the across-the-board raise in supplementary payments, were discussed at length. Our union informed members about the ongoing court cases it has launched against these losses of rights. The legal and administrative work under way to resolve the grade, step and intibak crises experienced by our artists who moved from 4B status to permanent positions was also shared.

"The Voice of Culture Workers at the Bargaining Table"

Speaking at the meeting, Birleşik Kamu-İş Confederation President Orhan Yıldırım emphasised that at the collective bargaining table where the confederation will sit, the demands of the public sector and of the culture and arts sector cannot be ignored, and that everyone will be kept informed about the negotiations conducted at the table. Yıldırım gave the good news that, to protect the financial and personnel rights of all workers of the State Theatres (DT) and the General Directorate of Fine Arts (GSGM), acting together will create a very strong agenda in the national press and public opinion.

Our Art Workers' Concrete Demands on Record

In the consultations with our Istanbul DOB workers, the real problems in the kitchen where art is produced were heard one by one and reported. Our clear demands, which stand out and await urgent solutions, are: • DÖSİM share: a fair share for culture and art workers from DÖSİM revenues. • City compensation: the introduction of a "city compensation" to ease the heavy economic burden of living in Istanbul and protect living standards. • Arduous-service supplement: urgent regulation of the "actual service supplement (arduous-service credit)" for branches requiring intense physical performance on and behind the stage. • Military service: a special legal arrangement, suited to the nature of the profession, regarding military service, which interrupts the artistic and physical careers of male ballet dancers. • AKM physical conditions: improvement of the parking problem at the Atatürk Cultural Centre (AKM), canteen quality, the lack of social spaces, and physical working conditions in line with today's standards.

These demands, voiced by our art workers themselves — and especially the AKM-centred physical problems — have been turned into project proposals by our union several times over recent years, and will be presented as the first and most important agenda item at the next meeting with the relevant Ministry office. As Kültür Emek-Sen, we draw our strength from the field and our voice from the justice of our cause. No problem of our colleagues will be swept under the rug; our struggle will continue shoulder to shoulder — at the table, in the field and on the stage. Kültür Emek-Sen