Since December 2007 workers and labourers of Turkey and Northern Kurdistan have occupied the streets all over Turkey and Northern Kurdistan against the Social Insurances and General Health Insurance (SSGSS).
On December 27, 1.500 workers and labourers in Istanbul raised the slogan "We will not retire in our grave" and marched to the local directorship of the Labour and Social Security Ministry located at Unkapani, Istanbul.
Nearly 50 democratic mass organisations and trade unions, among them the DTP , ESP , KESK , DISK and TTB , joined the action in the name of "Platform for Health and a Safe Future to Everyone" and opened a banner read "For a united struggle for health and a safe future to everyone".
The Socialist Platform of the Oppressed (ESP) leads the struggle against SSGSS with the perspective of a general strike and general resistance. For that, the ESP has founded Committees of Resistance against GSS in every borough and organises actions every week in front of a different hospital. These Committees also distribute leaflets in coffee houses and local markets.
Unions such as Tekstil-Sen and Limter-Is as well as associations such as the Labourer Women's Association actively take part in the fight against SSGSS. On January 6, Tekstil-Sen members realised an action in front of SSK Maternity Hospital and Women and Children`s Diseases Hospital at Bakirkoy, Istanbul. They protested against GSS by distributing leaflets.
Members of Ankara Labourer Women's Association organised an action against SSGSS at Yuksel Street, Ankara. Here, the women carried posters on which it said "Cancel the surcharge" and emphasized that GSS mostly affects women.
Shipyard workers also went on the streets to show their protest against GSS. On January 10, the shipyard workers gathered at Tuzla Icmeler train station lead by the Limter-Is union.At the action they protested against the AKP government that under the name of "Change in Health" makes health no longer free but obliges people to pay.
On January 13, the Platform for Health and a Safe Future to Everyone realised a mass rally at Kadikoy, Istanbul. Despite the police's provocations and efforts to hinder the demonstration, 3.000 people marched determinedly to Iskele Square.
With the demand to cancel the SSGSS draft law, the workers and labourers started a march on January 15 from Istanbul and Izmir to meet in Ankara on January 17. The March for Health and a Safe Future to Everyone organised by KESK, DISK, TMMOB , TTB, TDHB and BASK passed many cities where the workers organised actions and opened a banner read "Attention! Our health and pension are in danger!".
Besides the fact that all kind of actions developing against SSGSS play an important role, it must be recognised that union confederations still show a lacking interest in developing an action plan to cancel the draft law. Another weak point is their interest to stand up against the operations in South Kurdistan for defending the liberation struggle of the Kurdish people. However, it is a very positive point that the movement against SSGSS became stronger by having a basis with local platforms in many cities and that with the participation of unions, chambers and democratic mass organisations, the platforms have now a bigger potential to be long-lasting posts.