Politics Service

The government, which mobilises all its resources for capital, erects barricades against miners, teachers, women, students, workers, labourers, and life defenders.

The Palace administration, which loosens the purse strings for the bosses and fattens them day by day with support payments, deploys security units wherever there is a struggle for rights.

While miners are forced to lock themselves inside the mines, teachers are subjected to harsh interventions. Workers march for kilometres and strike for days to make their voices heard. Trade unionists and life defenders are thrown into prison, and women are detained while fighting for their acquired rights.

TEACHERS

While annual tuition fees in private schools start from 1 million TL, the monthly salary of a newly graduated teacher has remained at the minimum wage level. As a result of the government viewing public education as a burden, millions of students, parents, and private school teachers have been victimised. While the number of teachers working in private schools owned by bosses exceeds 200,000, the figure reaches 500,000 when including educators working in private courses, rehabilitation centres, and foundation universities. Private school bosses, on the other hand, have been given whatever they desired for years. In the last 25 years, the increase in private schools has reached 700 per cent. While there were 1,887 private schools in the 2001-2002 academic year, this number reached 14,700 in 2024-2025 with a record increase. The share of private schools within total schools rose from 3.72 per cent to 19.85 per cent. Now, one out of every five schools has been turned into a private school.

Teachers protesting the deepening of exploitation conditions face intervention. Teachers who gathered in Ankara with demands for a base salary, secure employment, and the rectification of interview grievances encountered a police barrier. The police, intervening in the protest in front of the TBMM (Grand National Assembly of Türkiye), detained numerous teachers, including trade union executives.

MINERS

While mine workers have been resisting for months for their wages, working conditions, and job security, the choice of the Palace regime was once again in favour of capital. While labourers seeking their rights faced police blockades and oppression, state supports given to underground coal enterprises were increased. With a decision signed by the AKP President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan the previous day, support amounts “aimed at meeting the cost increases occurring in underground mining enterprises” were increased. The decision will be valid from 1 January. Within the scope of the relevant article, the support amounts to be given to employers per worker working underground for the 2026-2028 period were also raised to 50 per cent. In enterprises that have newly started underground coal mining, the entire amount subject to the support payment will be paid.

In Edirne, workers who have been resisting for 25 days because they could not receive their rights at Özşen Mining, shut themselves underground the previous day and started a hunger strike. Demanding their wages, overtime, and severance payments, the miners escalated the resistance, saying, “Either our rights will be given, or we will not leave here.” The trade union announced that their regular communication with the miners through the control centre had been cut off, as the control centre was disabled by the boss. The miners’ resistance continues. On the other hand, the struggle of the mine workers resisting for their rights at Doruk Mining concluded in victory in recent days.

WOMEN

The Constitutional Court had annulled, by a majority of votes, the regulation regarding the indefinite application of poverty alimony granted to divorced spouses. The annulment provision will come into force nine months later. The Antalya 12th Family Court had filed an application for the annulment of the regulation concerning poverty alimony being “indefinite” under Article 175 of the Turkish Civil Code No. 4721. Backlash poured in against the decision, primarily from women’s organisations. In Ankara, women and LGBTI+ individuals protesting the AYM’s poverty alimony decision made a press statement the previous day under police tear gas intervention and blockade. Following the protest, in which reaction was shown against the 12th Judicial Package, 4 people were detained.

Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Patrona destek itiraza barikat, published in BirGün newspaper on June 15, 2026.

Kaynak: BirGün