Journalists’ Strike Ahead of Turkish Elections Raises Information Concerns

"Unfortunately, due to this attitude, we have come to the stage of a strike in both companies," Durmus said.

However, the strike has raised concerns about access to reliable information ahead of critical general and presidential elections on May 14.

The strike was worrying as a "strong government propaganda machinery" continues to operate non-stop, Gurkan Ozturan, Coordinator of Media Freedom Rapid Response at the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, told BIRN.

Journalists seek protection against economic turbulence People exchange their money at an exchange office at the Tahtakale Bazaar in Istanbul, Turkey, 22 December 2022. The Turkish president announced that the minimum wage for 2023 was 8500 Turkish Lira (455 US Dollars) with an increase of 55 percent. According to official reports, annual inflation in Turkey hit 85.51 percent in October 2022, the highest record in 25 years. Photo: EPA-EFE/ERDEM SAHIN

Unions and media experts say journalists are right to demand pay increases and better working conditions.

Journalists in both companies were demanding a large increase as the value of the lira plummeted by more than 200 per cent in the last three years and inflation is surging, officially running at a rate of 64 per cent last year, but unofficially far more.

TGS president Durmus confirmed that Reuters journalists demanded a 135-per-cent pay increase due to the high inflation rate and following low pay increases in the last few years.

However, Reuters offered only a 25-per-cent increase.

In AFP, journalists and the company are closer to each other when it comes to the agreed size of the pay increase, but the company has not met demands to create a mechanism to protect journalists...