Türk Telekom Renews Collective Labor Agreement With Union

Negotiation process between Türk Telekom and the Turkish Communication Unions (Haber-İş) over its 11th Term Labor Contract has ended in an agreement, the company said in a written statement.

According to the agreement, workers will have a wage increase of 200 Turkish Liras on equal basis for the first six-month period, 4.5 percent increase for the second six-month period, 3.5 percent for the third period and 3 percent for the fourth period. Workers receiving a net salary under 1,500 liras will now receive 1,500 liras, according to the statement.

The agreement was signed in a ceremony attended by Türk Telekom CEO Rami Aslan, the Confederation of Turkish Labor Unions (Türk-İş) chairman Ergün Atalay, Haber-İş chairman Veli Solak, and other union representatives at the Türk Telekom Head Office in Ankara.

Expressing his pleasure over the agreement, Aslan said, "We are happy that we have agreed on a balanced deal that meets the expectations of our employees" while helping "protect" the company sustainably. He said the company chose the 6 month incremental wage increases in order to support low-wage earning employees, enabling them to receive more wage increases. The company has also increased the social aid payments, in accordance with the wage increases.

The collective agreement will cover a total of 12,000 Türk Telekom union member workers across Turkey and be valid between March 1, 2015 and Feb 28, 2017. The deal, which has 118 articles, consists of wage, social rights, leave of absences, working hours, occupational health and security, and discipline decrees. - Istanbul