DİSK/Dev Sağlık-İş Commences Major March from Taksim to Ankara

Istanbul – The Dev Sağlık-İş (Revolutionary Health Workers) Union, affiliated with the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DİSK), has initiated a significant 3-day march from Istanbul's Taksim Square to Ankara. The march, launched under the slogan "Public Sector Workers Will Get Their Rights, Health and Social Service Workers Will Get Their Rights," began with a powerful press statement held on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, at 12:30 PM, in front of Taksim Training and Research Hospital.

DİSK Leadership Provides Full Support

The launch of the march and the accompanying press conference saw the full participation of DİSK's leadership, including DİSK General President Arzu Çerkezoğlu, DİSK General Secretary Tayfun Görgün, DİSK General Vice President Özkan Atar, DİSK Executive Board Member Şükret Sevgener, and DİSK Istanbul Regional Representative Asalettin Arslanoğlu.

Addressing the press, DİSK General President Arzu Çerkezoğlu underscored that this march is not solely for health and social service workers. Çerkezoğlu stated, "This march is a journey to carry the voice and breath of 600,000 public sector workers, health and social service workers, millions of workers condemned to the minimum wage, retirees, public employees – that is, millions who produce all the values of this country – to Ankara."

Demand for Justice in Income, Taxation, and the Country

Çerkezoğlu continued, "Today, we are marching from Taksim to Ankara not only for health and social service workers but for all public sector workers; for minimum wage earners; for retirees who cannot even receive the minimum wage; for justice in income, justice in taxation, and justice in the country."

Summarizing the core demands of the march, Çerkezoğlu used the slogan, "We want to live humanely, not minimally!" articulating the shared expectation of millions of laborers. Public sector workers and the broader working class have set out with demands for livable wages, a fair taxation system, and justice in every sphere of the country.

Dev Sağlık-İş members and DİSK executives aim to powerfully convey the legitimate demands of public sector workers and all laborers to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and to the public through this 3-day march.