A dozen staff on the British broadcaster went on strike final 12 months after it provided raises not in tune with skyrocketing inflation in Turkey.
A strike on the Istanbul bureau of the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) ended after staff and the broadcaster agreed on new monetary phrases.
A dozen staff launched the labour motion in December after the media organisation provided a pay increase considerably decrease than inflation ranges in Turkey, which have skyrocketed in current months.
The Journalists Union of Turkey, which BBC staff are a member of, was concerned within the negotiations with the broadcaster.
The BBC’s highest reported supply of a 20 p.c wage increase was elevated to 32 p.c in the course of the talks, which resulted within the settlement.
The broadcaster additionally prolonged the protection of the personal medical insurance it supplies to households of the staff, elevated the quantity of a lunch allowance, and dedicated to paying for glasses for workers as much as 1,200 Turkish liras ($90), the Journalists Union of Turkey stated on Saturday.
The strike was the primary at a media organisation in Turkey in 13 years.
‘Essential achievements’
The chairperson of the Journalists Union of Turkey, Gokhan Durmus, stated BBC’s presents had been properly below inflation ranges for 2 years in a row and, subsequently, staff determined to go on strike after collective bargaining talks failed.
“The morale and motivation offered by this strike will encourage our colleagues, who’ve been subjected to insecure and dangerous working circumstances with low pay throughout the media sector, to collect below the union’s roof and combat collectively,” Durmus stated in an announcement.
“That is the primary strike [in Turkey’s media] since 2009 and earlier than BBC Istanbul Bureau, no worldwide media went on strike in Turkey,” he added.
“The achievements reached via the strike are vital for journalists each working for worldwide and native media in Turkey, and it’s a reference for the longer term.”
BBC staff introduced their strike in mid-December after they hung a banner outdoors the Istanbul workplaces of the BBC within the Beyoglu district.
Surge in dwelling prices
The Turkish lira weakened 44 p.c final 12 months in opposition to the US greenback earlier than the autumn of the foreign money stopped in December after authorities interventions and a scheme to guard financial institution deposits in lira from depreciation in opposition to foreign exchange.
Inflation elevated to its peak in 19 years in 2021 at 36 p.c, the best below the presidency of Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The surge in dwelling prices within the nation slammed family buying energy, main the federal government to take measures together with a 50 p.c rise within the month-to-month minimal wage, which is at the moment set at 4,250 lira ($313) to offset inflation.
Late 2021 noticed Turkish residents in lengthy strains to purchase low-cost subsidised bread from native outlets, whereas the value of electrical energy, pure fuel and petrol considerably jumped.