February 4, 2006

A press release event attended by more than 600 workers turned into a rally in Kadiköy, Istanbul where laborers were able to voice out their opposition to the governing JDP’s (Justice and development Party) proposed General Health Insurance plan.

Speaking on behalf of the Turkish Physicians’ Association Istanbul branch, the General Secretary Ali Çerkezoğlu said the plan would be unhealthy and would bring insecurity. He also said the government wanted to take away the peoples’ right to health care and called for a united struggle against this attempt.

He started his talk by greeting the attending workers, “Greetings to the people, who’s health care and who’s future have been taken as collateral. A new health care system, even worse than the current one, which pits doctors against nurses, is on its way. We must create the widest possible front with all the workers, unemployed, students, patients, those who work in the fields, anybody who has anything to do with hospitals to claim our right to health care… They want to secure their own program, but they will not be able to do this . Without our approval, without this peoples’ approval, they will not be able to clear their bills in the parliament. If we say no, it will not happen. If we resist, we will prevent this bill. This country needs a health care system where everybody is covered, where everybody has access, where it is a free public service, where the physicians provide services in the East, in the Southeast or in any poor community, where health care is accessible by everybody. And we will create this kind of a health care!”

Speaking after Ali Çerkezoğlu, the Branch president of Istanbul Haber İş, (the Union of postal, telegraph, telephone, radio and television workers of Turkey) on behalf of all Istanbul branches of TÜRK-İŞ (the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions) Levent Dokuyucu criticized the position of the unions’ headquarters and the Labor Platform on their approach to the governments’ General Health Insurance policy. He said the headquarters and the Labor Platform were working on a compromise and on an item-by-item basis and were in dealings with the government. He compared this to their own approach, which rejects the whole system of General Health Insurance plan and the government’s social security plan. He said, “One thing should be known. Those who should be organizing against this plan are in the capital conducting negotiations and dealings with the government. If we have a health bill of 30 items, they are sitting down to negotiate on the 15 items, and accept the other 15. But when Istanbul took the initiative to start actions on health care, this activated other workers, public workers and other professions including and foremost the central Labor Platform committee.” Dokuyucu said the workers needed to unite against the proposed health care bill and to start preparing for a strike against the proposal.

Sevgi Göyçe, speaking on behalf of KESK (Confederation of Public Workers Unions), said, “the government plans on General Health Insurance and Social Security reforms are the last links in the chain of neo liberal transformation policies which translates to more poverty.”

Erhan Karaçay, speaking for TMMOB, the Union Of Chambers Of Turkish Engineers And Architects, said the steps to install the infrastructure to eradicate the health care had been inserted into the constitution under the September 12 military rule. Another step in this direction had been taken during the chaotic environment of the devastating earthquake when the retirement age was raised known as “the retirement in grave” law. He emphasized that the demands of the IMF, the World Bank or the European Union pressuring to have the General Health Insurance bill pass in Turkey and the attack against the social security of the labor in Europe are not independent from each other.

Osman Öztürk, representing the Istanbul Chamber of Doctors said the JDP would not be able to pass this law because the system they propose was a failure from the start. He said those who defend this bill would find the laborers against them and that they should be scared of the reaction of the laborers.

The main banner of the action read, “A United Struggle for the Right of Health Care and Social Security for Everybody.” The event was attended by many democratic and political organizations, healh care professional associations and unions.

Sendika.org
M.B.