Construction Engineers Demand Safety and Rights Across 81 Provinces

Construction engineers across Turkey held simultaneous press events in all 81 provinces on November 12, 2026, under the campaign "Our Demand Is Our Future." In Trabzon, engineers marched from Maraş Street to Meydan Park, where Trabzon Branch President Mustafa Tiryaki read the statement on behalf of the chamber.

Tiryaki said engineering has been reduced to a cost item and paperwork procedure rather than a public responsibility. He described the current situation as the profession's most severe economic and professional crisis, warning that informal construction and unchecked amnesty buildings put millions of citizens at risk.

The statement highlighted unsafe working conditions in both public and private sectors. Engineers cited low pay, unpaid overtime, insurance contributions based on minimum wage instead of actual earnings, and insufficient retirement pensions.

Officials also raised concerns about building safety in an earthquake-prone country. Tiryaki noted that Turkey still lacks an up-to-date building stock inventory shared with the public, and that amnesty buildings receive legal status without safety inspections.

Additional demands included full-time site foremen at every construction site and an independent building inspection system free from financial pressure. The chamber also called for improved civil servant rights, merit-based hiring, and greater employment of engineers.

The statement addressed unemployment among young engineers, discrimination against female engineers, and poor living conditions for retired engineers. Engineers declared that their patience has run out and that engineering is a fundamental responsibility for protecting human life, not a mere formality.