DİSK Marches to Ankara: Demanding Economic Justice and Fair Taxation
DİSK is marching towards Ankara from Istanbul, demanding economic justice and protesting against the increasing tax burden on workers. The march will take four days and the slogan is “We are marching to Ankara for justice in income, justice in taxes.” DİSK President Arzu Çerkezoğlu stresses the need for economic justice, especially at a time when constitutional principles are being eroded.
As the nation struggles with what Çerkezoğlu called “the biggest distribution crisis in the history of the republic,” she pointed to the compounding challenges of high inflation, rising living costs, poor wages and an oppressive tax burden. Çerkezoğlu emphasized that “we are becoming poorer each day,” and stressed that “justice in earnings and tax” is more than just economic equity; it’s about fairness for everyone in the country. “We’re walking to get more money, stop losing our earnings because of high inflation, and lower the amount of tax we have to pay,” she announced.
Çerkezoğlu pointed out that indirect taxes place an unequal burden on consumers and called on the government to reorient its priorities. Instead, she urged officials to scrutinise corporate profits and bank balance sheets, and called for an end to the continued burden on the salaries of workers. We are mobilising for justice in a country where the constitution is being trampled. We are marching to establish a country with justice, a Turkiye of labour,” she declared.
After the rally in Istanbul, the first destination was the town square in Gebze, where the workers gave them a warm welcome. “We are marching to be the voice of millions” she said, expressing her sadness at the country’s inadequate labour rights. Çerkezoğlu spoke about the challenges facing over half of low-wage workers and stated that the march’s goal is to combat Turkey’s transformation into a country of minimum-wage workers.
The four-day walk will finish with a protest in Ankara on the 17th of November. There will also be demonstrations against the heavy tax load on employees in Kocaeli, Yalova, Bursa, Bilecik, and Eskişehir during the event.
