Privileges

Earlier this year, my colleagues were protesting new social security laws. At the time, a big package of changes for working people, for pregnant workers and for pensioners was announced by the government. Journalists in Turkey found it necessary to protest a change that would directly affect them: the special rules that gave them the possibility to retire earlier than others would be abolished. Also pilots were no longer permitted to retire early. Journalism, said the protesters, is a very intense and dangerous job, it makes you age prematurely and that’s why journalists should be entitled to retire early. Of course, it’s never nice to give up privileges, but this protest made me giggle at the time. Now this week the whole package of changes came into effect. No protest this time, and I’m glad. Other groups of workers will now have the right to retire earlier, and clearly these groups need it more: people who work with iron, cement, lead, arsenic and aluminium. Come on colleagues, write about their lives from the relative comfort of your profession.