Sağlık-Sen Chairman: “We have achieved significant gains in the collective bargaining process.”

Health-Sen Chairman Mahmut Faruk Doğan made statements regarding the gains from collective bargaining.

President Doğan said, “We have reached the end of our eighth term collective bargaining process as the service branch. We sat at that table on behalf of 850,000 healthcare and social service workers. Our service branches include nearly forty educated, university-educated employees with licenses, master's degrees, and doctorates, from physicians and nurses to social workers and psychologists and child development specialists. We sat at the collective bargaining table to protect the rights of these colleagues and employees. Of course, as Memur-Sen, we did not accept the offer made by the public employer. And we did not sign any of them. We rejected the offer. But as the authorized union, Sağlık-Sen, we have achieved truly significant gains for healthcare and social service workers. These gains are reflected in the collective bargaining agreement we signed in January 2026.”

"WE OBTAINED THE NIGHT'S COMPENSATION"

President Doğan said, “If we were to mention the most important of these, we ensured that nurses, midwives, physicians, and paramedics working at night shifts, as well as nearly forty professional institutions, were paid nighttime compensation. This was very important to us. Up until this point, we worked with universities to address the challenges of nighttime sleeplessness, obtaining articles from universities and taking a scientific approach to what a nurse, physician, or employee experiences due to sleep disorders. We presented this to the public employers' committee. We believed that nighttime workers absolutely needed to be aware of this. We convinced the public employers' committee on this issue. And we obtained nighttime compensation. Of course, we also established ILO standards regarding nighttime compensation. The ILO states that it considers nighttime work to be between 8:00 PM and 8:00 AM. We granted a 10 percent increase to midwives, nurses, and physicians working between 8:00 PM and 8:00 AM. Of course, this isn't just within the Ministry of Health. It's also within the public sector, for example, in our police force.” "We have police officers. I want to especially remind you that our police officers must be paid night pay because they constantly work nights," he said.

Doğan continued his words as follows; We have ensured that clothing assistance is provided in kind to midwives, nurses, physicians, anesthesia technicians, laboratory technicians, and nearly 40 other professional groups, which we call the health services class working at the Ministry of Health. What does this mean? We were specifically saying that the clothing requirement should be included. Because we work 24/7 in intensive care and wards, and we sweat through these uniforms. We also brought up the issue that these uniforms should absolutely be provided by the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Health will cover the uniforms of midwives, nurses, and physicians twice a year. Of course, we also had health graduates working in the health sector. Who are they? Our colleagues, such as dietitians, physiotherapists, and psychologists, were experiencing difficulties with their base additional payments. As Health Year, we worked very hard to address these difficulties and achieved an increase in the base additional payment coefficient for these colleagues from 0.32 to 0.42. What does this mean? We have ensured that these colleagues have earned more than 1,200 TL. We have also ensured that they receive a raise. Of course, we also have other healthcare professionals working in the health services class. We increased the base pay for our nurses and midwives from 0.37 to 0.42. This corresponds to 700 TL. We've ensured they receive a 700 TL increase. Of course, not only the Ministry of Health but also midwives and nurses working in university hospitals will benefit from this base additional payment increase. Another important benefit is our paramedics and emergency medical service (EMT) drivers working at 112, who are constantly on the lookout for accidents 24/7. We've also achieved a gain of approximately 1,500 TL in the base additional payments for these EMT and paramedics. We also had EMT and paramedic colleagues working as ambulance drivers in addition to their primary duties. We've also increased their net incentive coefficients, in addition to their points. Additionally, if an EMT or paramedic provides additional driving services, 1,000 TL will be deposited into their pay account in the coming days.

"WE HAVE ACHIEVED VERY SIGNIFICANT GAINS"

President Doğan continued his speech as follows; “Of course, we have residential social service institutions within the Ministry of Family and Social Services that provide services for children and those with severe disabilities. We have children's home coordination centers called ÇEKOM. We have also ensured that our personnel, such as social workers, who work there, receive a 1,200 TL increase. Of course, the gains of our colleagues in the health and social services field, including midwives, physicians, nurses, social workers, and psychologists, will not stop there. This collective bargaining process is over. As Sağlık-Sen, we will continue our fight for the rights of all our employees working in the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Family and Social Services, the Courthouse Institution, the Border and Coastal Authority, and the Ministry's Central Organization, that is, within our own structure, until the next collective bargaining agreement. As Sağlık-Sen, we have truly made very significant gains during this period. Of course, is it enough for all our midwives and nurses? This is definitely not enough. Because healthcare is a service provided 24/7. Our midwives and nurses have been providing that same service 24/7, without hesitation, to ensure the health of our citizens, even during the extraordinary times we've experienced in recent years. We will fight to ensure these colleagues receive what they deserve.

"AS SAĞLIK-SEN, WE WILL CONTINUE OUR CONTINUOUS STRUGGLE 24/7"

Regarding night shift compensation, President Doğan said, “Look, I have duty rosters from various hospitals. These duty rosters represent the weekly duty leave that a nurse or midwife would cover. How much time do civil servants normally work? They typically work 40 hours a week, or 160 hours a month. But when we look at the duty rosters of our nurses and midwives, the 160 hours are increased by 80 hours. In other words, we see that they work 80 hours, 110 hours more per week, or 110 hours more per month. This is one of the reasons we attach so much importance to night shift compensation. Like regular civil servants, we work 80+110 hours more than the normal 160 hours. In other words, because we work at the expense of our homes, families, and children, we always refer to midwives, nurses, doctors, and healthcare workers in our discourse. We strive to keep our healthcare workers in the spotlight in this way. Because these colleagues save lives, they rescue lives, and they provide a cure for suffering. As Sağlık-Sen, we work 24/7 to ensure that these individuals receive their due. “I want to say from here that we will continue our struggle,” he said.

“WE HAVE NEARLY 40 PROFESSIONAL BOARDS”

President Doğan, speaking about the achievements they have achieved as the Health Services Board, said, “We have nearly 40 professional boards. Everyone within these nearly 40 professional boards has their own unique circumstances. As Sağlık-Sen, we have achieved 29 of our 77 demands. However, there are also demands we have won that are in line with Memur-Sen's general demands. For example, because a janitor, a colleague in the general administration services class, also belongs to this profession in other institutions, and they were included in Memur-Sen's general demands, we have achieved 29 gains for our employees at the Health Services Board alone. But when we include Memur-Sen's gains, Sağlık-Sen, as a majority, has successfully managed a collective bargaining process. We have achieved gains in 29 articles. Midwives, nurses, and doctors must be given their due. If they receive their due, they will provide better and more motivated service to the baby who comes to them in the outpatient clinic, to all our people. I want to emphasize the importance of this.”

(DHA) This content was published by Sedef Karatay