Öz Sağlık İşçileri Sendikası
Purpose, principles and main activities of the Öz-Sağlık İş Trade Union (in English, the Öz Sağlık-İş Health and Social Services Workers Trade Union) are defined by the delegates at the congresses (general assembly meetings) held every 4 years and all of them are placed in the up-to-date statute (constitution) of the union.
The current version of the union statute accepted at of the 4th Congress (General Assembly) of the ÖZ SAĞLIK-İŞ Trade Union, held on 07-08 November 2025 in Ankara.
Purpose and Principles of Our Union
(Our Union’s Statute, Article 4)
1) ÖZ SAĞLIK-İŞ Trade Union is based on respect for human rights, universal principles, the Constitution and natural law principles.
It sincerely believes in the unity of the country.
It adopts the principle of effectively protecting and developing the rights and interests of workers within the understanding of participatory, pluralistic and liberal democracy.
It accepts humans and labour as the highest value. It considers innovative, principled and determined struggle as a fundamental duty to achieve this goal.
2) To work for workers to receive a wage appropriate for the work they do and befitting human dignity,
3) To work to protect and develop the physical and mental health of employees,
4) To work to ensure that employees look to the future with confidence and to prevent the abuse of their rights,
5) It considers the necessity of democracy and free civil society structure as its reason for existence. As a civil society organization that accepts humans as a fundamental value, it strives to defend and develop human rights and freedoms,
6) It prepares its members for the information age (knowledge era) by developing vocational and technical education and qualified workforce, and meets their economic, social and cultural needs,
7) To make efforts to present the best way for protection of rights and interest of workers for
free unionism, strong organisation, better collective labour agreements and effective strike in order to generate an exclusive and virtuous worker congregation that are aware of their status, values, moral responsibility, role and mission regardless of language, race, gender, colour, family, sect and political views,
8) To develop and improve relations with the community (societal environment), to have union activities exceed the syndicate sphere and involve all segments of the society to protect the natural environment and to develop facilities and opportunities with all relevant civil society organisations for common goals,
9) It accepts as a principle the restructuring of the union movement as well as the country in every field and institutional level with a just, liberal and pluralistic democratization and (it) struggles in this direction in order to ensure economic, social, political and cultural development of the country, which should mirror historical knowledge and identity of our community.
Main Activities of Our Union
(Our Union’s Statute, Article 5)
1) To conduct collective bargaining negotiations and sign collective labour agreements,
2) To apply to relevant authorities which would be mediators, arbitration boards or judicial bodies during the collective bargaining negotiations
3) On behalf of its members or heirs upon written applications,
- a) To file a lawsuit or follow up on lawsuits filed for issues arising from working life, legislation, customs and traditions or collective labour agreements,
- b) To file a lawsuit or follow up on lawsuits filed for rights arising from labour contracts and labour relations and social security rights,
- c) In the event of termination of membership during the trial, to follow up on lawsuits filed on behalf of members or heirs or lawsuits filed against them, provided that the member or his heirs give written approval,
4) To send representatives to the relevant institutions, organizations and boards that gather in compliance with the national legislation and international agreements and treaties.
5) To send delegates, representatives and observers to international labour organizations and (to) invite delegates, representatives and observers from them,
6) To decide on a strike and implement it,
7) To organise courses and conferences in order to improve occupational knowledge, skills and experiences, (to) increase savings and investments,
8) To establish, have established, operate or run guesthouses, labour houses, hotels, social facilities, schools, education and health facilities, libraries or other facilities required (for following aims) for the purpose of catering needs of its members (workers), staff (crews) and their families and (of) improvement of their economic, social and cultural living conditions. In this direction, to establish an association or company, to become a member of an established one, to become one of its partners/shareholders or to take over if needed.
9) To prepare radio and television programs and to publish press releases and issue publications,
10) To purchase, acquire and dispose of moveable and immoveable properties (real estates) in order to realise its purposes, priorities and principles,
11) To invest in industrial and economic enterprises, provided that it does not exceed 40% of cash assets,
12) To assist in the establishment of provident funds, and education and training-based funds by allocating financial possibilities in cases of marriage, birth, illness, old age, death, disability, unemployment and similar (extraordinary) situations by providing amount of any loans should not exceed more than 5% of the cash reserves,
13) To provide loans to the current corporate cooperatives and/or to contribute into establishing cooperatives by providing credits amounting less than 10% of cash assets for the benefit of its members (workers),
14) To provide in-kind and cash aid to public institutions and organizations for the purpose of establishing housing, education and health facilities in natural disaster areas at home and abroad, directly or through authorized authorities by providing aids amounting less than 10% of cash assets in line with an Executive Board resolution of the Syndicate.
15) To perform other duties and responsibilities arising from legislation and union traditions and to use other rights and mandates.