ESTRAM Workers Protest the Municipality

Railway-İş Union Eskişehir Branch announced that the salaries of the employees in Estram, which is affiliated to Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality, are insufficient.

Estram employees of Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality took action to improve living and working conditions, especially a decent wage and social rights.

IF WE PAY THE BILLS, WE CANNOT MEET THE RENTAL

Estram employees, affiliated with the Railway-İş Union, gathered in front of Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality, announced that their salaries were not enough. Estram workers chanted slogans such as 'We are workers, we are right, we will win', 'Take the raises back', opening banners with the words 'We can't survive', 'We are crushed by inflation', 'No to violence against the driver'.

“ELECTRICITY, NATURAL GAS INCREASED 100 PERCENT”

In his speech, Ramazan Uysal, Chairman of the Eskişehir Branch of the Demiryol-İş Union, said that the economic crises, as always, affected the fixed, low-income and wage earners. Uysal stated that the increases in prices experienced since November have reached a painful level and that the most essential expenses from basic foodstuffs to house rent have become unaffordable. Increases of more than 100 percent for indispensable needs such as electricity, natural gas, house rents, and main food items have become unbearable. Yes, dear decision makers, those who govern us, we are at the end of the word. Our salary goes to instructed bill payments without ever going into our pockets. If we pay the fee we receive for house rent, we cannot meet our bills. If we pay the bills, we do not pay the rent. We come home empty-handed. We stopped buying shoes for our wife, bagel money for our children, and we can't even buy socks," he said.

EMPLOYEES VICTIMIZED

Uysal, who stated that they could not make a living and could not afford what they received, said that the employees were afraid to look at their families' faces. Uysal emphasized that this situation cannot be avoided by criticizing only those who rule the country in general, and that it is unacceptable that local administrators do not approach their problems with a solution-oriented approach by ignoring the voice of the people they govern or by making excuses arising from the legislation, and stated that this will only be persecution. Uysal added that the talks they had with the municipality officials were unfortunately inconclusive and listed his demands as follows:

• Estram employees were victimized because the tax exemption amounting to 638,01 TL, which was fulfilled by the amendment made in the tax law, was not paid to the employees. While our former senior colleagues were waiting for improvement, on the contrary, there were decreases in salaries.
• Due to the increase in the minimum wage and the increase in the wages of new hires, the wage gap between former and senior employees has disappeared. These problems must be resolved.
• The bonuses arising from the collective bargaining agreement of the worker personnel working at Estram A.Ş. have not been paid on time for years. The bonus due at the end of January during this period was paid with a delay of 19 days.
• Shoe checks and summer clothes for 2020 have not been given yet.
• The transportation assistance fee of 1 month, which must be paid within the scope of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, is not paid in full as of November 2021.
• Meal wages are not paid to the personnel working in the night shift, although it is determined.

(SPOKESMAN)