Turkish Labor & Social Security Minister Faruk Celik said that they would declare May Day a public holiday covering all employees throughout the country.

The Tripartite Consultative Board formed by representatives of the government, employees and employers convened after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave instructions to the minister to hold talks with the Confederation of Turkish Labour Unions (Turk-Is), the Moral Rights Workers Union (Hak-is), the Confederation of Revolutionary Trade Unions of Turkey (DISK) and the Turkish Confederation of Employers' Unions (TISK) to declare May Day as a public holiday.

Prior to the meeting, Celik said, "May Day is celebrated in the world as the day of labor, unity and solidarity. In Turkey, people used to celebrate May 1st as the spring festival under a law dated 1935. But, it was cancelled after 1980. With a decision made by the Council of Ministers on April 25, 2008, we decided to declare May 1st as the Day of Labor and Solidarity. Now, a draft law was submitted to the Council of Ministers for approval to declare May Day a public holiday."


AA