ELİF AKGÜL

Istanbul-As the period for collective bargaining between the Journalists’ Union of Turkey (TGS) and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Istanbul bureau has ended in disagreement, the employees at the BBC's bureau in Istanbul decide to take strike action. TGS Chair Gökhan Durmuş hung the decision of strike on the office door of BBC Turkish in Istanbul's Gümüşsuyu yesterday.

TGS issued a statement in front of the BBC office in Gümüşsuyu. In the statement, Gökhan Durmuş said:

“We demand that the wages of BBC employees be arranged in such a way that their purchasing power is maintained. The pay rise introduced by the employer in 2020 was well below the inflation rate. They are now offering a 14-percent increase to the gross wages. In an environment where the official inflation rate is 21 percent, no one can expect that we accept this offer. Our demands are reasonable and affordable. It is possible for the BBC to meet these demands without taking on an additional burden. Since last January, the pound has gained value by 80 percent against the Turkish Lira. In other words, the boss of the BBC has an 80-percent profit. What has started the strike process is the irreconcilable attitude of the BBC employer. We, as the TGS, make our last call to the BBC employer today. Otherwise, we want it to be known that a strike will be inevitable”

“We will take a step back”

We spoke to TGS Secretary-General İlkay Akkaya about the collective bargaining process. Stating that the BBC administration is in an approach that rejects the conditions in Turkey, İlkay Akkaya said, “They offer 14-percent increase to the gross wages. This offer is a disappointing offer for especially BBC, which is known as an institutionalized and democratic news agency.”

İlkay Akkaya continued to talk as follows:

“We decided to take strike action. However, we believe that we will make an agreement without going on strike, with the common sense of the BBC employer. The BBC employer should know that inflation rates, living standards, and conditions in Turkey have seriously affected people. Journalists, of course, have been affected. Living costs in Istanbul have increased one hundred percent in the last year.”

Recalling that they hung the decision of strike on the office door of BBC Turkish in Istanbul's Gümüşsuyu, İlkay Akkaya said, “If we don’t reach an agreement, we will go on strike. We will not take a step back.”