CHP Istanbul Provincial President, Canan Kaftancıoğlu, held a video conference call with members of the Plaza Action Platform in order to get information about the problems experienced by White-Collar workers during the pandemic. Kaftancıoğlu said, “It is a hijacking to cut the expenses covering the distance and food for those working from far. White-collar workers are under the pressure of mobbing and flexible work”. Members of the Plaza Action Platform added, “According to surveys, while working hours at in the workplace are 8 hours, this becomes 10-12 hours at home. We should work to live, not live to work”.

Continuing with meetings with representatives from different professions during the Coronavirus pandemic, CHP Istanbul Provincial President Dr. Canan Kaftancıoğlu listened to the problems of the White-Collar yesterday. Through video conference, Kaftancıoğlu came together with Gökçe Tatlısu and Ahmet Gire from the Plaza Action Platform, which was established by the White-Collar people for solidarity and organization. At the meeting, the main problems faced by salaried office workers, deemed as White-Collar, both before and during the pandemic, were discussed.

Kaftancıoğlu of CHP, expressed her concerns that the problems of office workers have increased with the pandemic period. She has said: “The employer has to give up some of their habits. All White-Collar employees have the right to rest at home, either on their own or with their children, but may have to work at the computer for hours with a phone call at 11pm. For the employee working at home, the employer does not feel responsible for the internet connection, electricity or telephone, and any objection by the worker is overcome with the threat of being fired. If there is not intervention, there will be greater problems increasing each day”.

Emphasizing that there should be no interruption in the income of the employees during the pandemic process, Kaftancıoğlu said, “We should call employers regarding the food costs and travel expenses of our friends who work at home, who work remotely and the number of white collar workers. It is a right grab to cut the food or road fees of the white collar workers working from afar”.

Emphasizing that there should be no cut in the income of the employees during the pandemic process, Kaftancıoğlu said, “We should make a call for employers regarding the food costs and travel expenses of our friends who work at home, as well as, the thousands of White-Collar workers. It is a hijacking of their rights to cut their expenses”.

The bankers, financial experts, graphic designers and software developers who are deemed as White-Collar, have serious psychological problems due to long working hours and mobbing. Kaftancıoğlu said, “There is little organization amongst the members of these professions, the majority of which are educated individuals. We see that the flexible work, mobbing, and performance evaluations that already existed before the pandemic increased further following the need to work remotely due to the pandemic”.

Gökçe Tatlısu, a researcher and member of the Plaza Action Platform, said: “According to the surveys, working hours at the workplace are 8 hours, which has become 10-12 hours when working from home. Nobody should feel alone. You should know that these experiences are shared by many people. Even the internet we use at home has become a means of production for the employer, but this is not discussed at all. It's like a matter of sacrifice. We do not want these to be sacrifices, we want a system to be put in place. We know from people who reach out to us that the employer wants to inspect the employee working from home. We know that there are also applications such as camera tracking. By making sure that more are aware of this situation, we are trying to prevent it through the people power of objection. However, we can only stop this to a certain extent.  We must now start to make arrangements against such things”.

“THEY MAY WANT TO HAVE ONE PERSON DO THE WORK OF TWO PEOPLE”

Stating that there may be situations against employees in many sectors at the end of the pandemic, Tatlısı said, “as a result of the shrink in many sectors, they may want to have one person do the work of two people. We need to be prepared for these. When this happens to us, we have to share with each other. At first glance, it may be thought that mobbing will decrease due to the loss of physical space, but on the contrary, you have to be accessible from everywhere.

It may make you uneasy when the light in the instant messaging program on the computer turns from green to yellow and even when you are away from the computer. It is clear how much of need there is for control in this situation. In opposition to the inspection by employers, there also needs to be an established system for us to also conduct supervision. As a result, our eyes should be open”.

“WE SHOULD WORK TO LIVE, NOT LIVE TO WORK”

Ahmet Gire, software developer and member of the Plaza Action Platform, said: “Employers in our country put all the responsibility on the employees. Companies cancel their meal cards. By doing so, they do not display an example of social solidarity. Legal arrangements about work life should be demanded, because it is not the unequal relationship between me and the employer that separates work and life. It can only be distinguished with public examples. We should work to live. We shouldn’t live to work”.

(Translated by Dilan SEÇGİN)