Engineer Tek-Sen Energy Union: “The salary of a 30-year engineer should be 105 thousand TL”

The Engineer Tek-Sen Energy Union, the voice of public engineers and technical personnel, announced that the salaries of engineers working in the public sector must be improved urgently. In the statement made by the union, a two-item solution proposal was presented for the said improvement. Accordingly, an increase in the additional payment rate and technical responsibility payment were requested.

“The rightful demands of engineers should not be ignored”

Making a statement on behalf of the union, Mümin Güler, the General President of the Engineer Tek-Sen Energy Union, drew attention to the fact that engineers working in the technical services class in the public sector take on great responsibilities in critical areas such as informatics, energy, industry, health and infrastructure, but current salaries do not reflect the equivalent of these duties and the risks they take. Mümin Güler said, “While the salary of an engineer working in the public sector for 30 years is only 57 thousand 918 TL, this figure exceeds 100 thousand TL with additional payments in equivalent professional groups. This difference is a reflection of the current system that does not evaluate engineers’ labor fairly,” and called on the authorities to take action to end the injustice in salaries.

Two-item basic proposal for salary regulation

Mümin Güler presented two basic proposals to increase engineer salaries to the required level. The first article demanded that an additional payment be made to increase the current salary of a 30-year engineer, which is 57 thousand TL, to 105 thousand TL within the scope of technical responsibility payment, and that this additional payment be reflected in the salaries with a 500 percent increase according to the knowledge, experience and responsibilities of the engineers. The second article suggested that an increase of 50 points be made in the additional payment rate to bring engineer salaries closer to the level of equivalent professional groups. Mümin Güler drew attention to the fact that the way for public engineers to have a fair salary is to implement these two articles together.

“Our state will not be able to find competent engineers”

Mümin Güler pointed out that the unfair salary regulation in the public sector creates a negative perception that the state does not show the necessary value to the engineering profession, and said, “This perception may cause engineers who receive good education not to prefer to work in the public sector over time. This situation may cause a serious regression in the process of reaching our state’s development goals. The decrease in the interest of engineers in the public sector may cause our state to be unable to find competent engineers in the medium term and may negatively affect the scientific and technological development of our country,” he said.

The salary scale was disrupted in 2022

In his statement, Güler mentioned that the salaries of technical personnel working in the public sector have been below the salaries of equivalent professional groups since 2019 and that the salary scale has deteriorated even more over time, and said, “Serious salary differences have occurred between technical personnel and equivalent professions. These differences do not cover the responsibilities and risks undertaken by technical personnel. Technical personnel who serve their country with their knowledge and labor are losing their motivation due to salary injustice.”

“Engineers’ salary injustice must end”

Drawing attention to the fact that they expect salary injustice to end urgently, Güler said, “The critical duties undertaken by technical services class personnel in the public sector should be taken into consideration and salaries should be arranged fairly. The accrued loss of rights of technical personnel who play a major role in the development of our country should be returned without wasting time,” he said.

“With 105 thousand TL, the labor of engineers will find the value it deserves”

Güler, who pointed out that all authorities have a great responsibility in order for technical personnel to see the value they deserve and to maintain labor peace, said, “With the increase in the salaries of engineers to 105 thousand TL, the labor of engineers will find the value they deserve. The fact that our engineers, who contribute to the future of Turkey, receive the salaries they deserve will both increase their motivation and increase the efficiency of public services.”