International Association of Health Policy

XVIth Conference of IAHPE, 29 September – 2 October 2011, Ankara, Turkey

The Conference was successfully completed. With an important attendance and a lot of indepth discussions

You can read and download the content of the conference at http://www.ttb.org.tr/dosya/kapitalizm/

All the presentations available here

The place: CAGDAS SANATLAR MERKEZ

4 Kennedy str, Kavaklidere, Ankara

Organization: IAHPE in collaboration with the TURKISH MEDICAL ASSOCIATION

with the support of CANKAYA MUNICIPALITY

Content

Download the Conference Programme

go to http://www.healthp.org/documents/index.php and then from All the topics choose: Conferences, scroll down to the last one and dowload it

PROGRAMME OVERVEW

Açılış Oturumu / Opening Session

Eriş Bilaloğlu, Türk Tabipleri Birliği Başkanı President of Turkish Medical Association

Alexis Benos, IAHPE Başkanı / President of IAHPE

Bülent Tanık, Çankaya Belediye Başkanı, Mayor of Cankaya

Korkut Boratav Türkiye / Turkey

Kapitalizmin Krizinin Ekonomik Analizi

The economical analysis of the crisis of capitalism

Hans-Ulrich Deppe Almanya / Germany

Kriz, Ticarileþme ve Hasta Hekim Ýliþkisi

Crises, Commercialization and Doctor-Patient Relationship

Hans-Ulrich Deppe Onur Töreni

Honouring ceremony for Hans Ullrich Deppe

1980 Sonrasý Saðlýk Reformlarý

The health care reforms after 1980

Onur Hamzaoðlu – Türkiye / Turkey

Neden ve nasýl reform? Saðlýðýn ekonomi politiði

Why and how reform? The political economy of health

Garance Upham – Fransa / France

Küresel Saðlýk Yönetiþimi Reformu: Dünya Saðlýk Asamblesinin yerine özel

sektör-IMF-DB-STK lardan oluþan bir güçlü üstyapý mý?

Global Health Governance reform : replacing the World Health Assembly of

governments with a private sector-IMF-World Bank-NGOs all powerful super structure ?

Jean-Pierre Unger, Patrick Van Dessel, Pierre De Paepe,

Kasturi Sen – Belçika / Belgium

Kamu tarafýndan finanse edilen saðlýk sistem araþtýrmalarýnýn özel sektör

tarafýndan ele geçirilmesinden neden kuþkulanmalý?

Why suspecting a capture of publicly funded health systems research by private

interests?

Saðlýk Reformu Pandemisi “ülke örnekleri”

Health reform pandemics “country examples”

John Lister Ýngiltere / England Kai-Lit Phua, Malezya /

Malaysia, Gerardine Clifford Yeni Zelanda / New Zealand, Gary

Jackson Yeni Zelanda / New Zealand

Saðlýk Sistemlerinin Piyasalaþma Yoluyla Reformu: Ýngiltere, Malezya ve Yeni

Zelanda’da Piyasalaþmanýn 30 Yýllýk Karþýlaþtýrmalý Analizi

Reforming Health Systems Through Marketisation: Comparative Analysis of

Effects of Three Decades of Marketisation in England, Malaysia and New Zealand

Carolina Tetelboin Henrion – Meksika / Mexico

Latin Amerika’da Neoliberal Saðlýk Reformlarý ve Yýkýcý Sonuçlarý

Neoliberal Health Reforms in South America and the disasterous impacts

Matt Anderson – ABD / USA

Ülke içinde ve dýþýnda ABD þirketleri ve Saðlýk Sistemi Reformu

US Corporations and Health System Reform at Home and Abroad

Angelo Stefanini – Ýtalya / Italy

Ýþgal Altýndaki Filistin Topraklarýnda Saðlýk

Health in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Meltem Çiçeklioðlu – Türkiye / Turkey

Türkiye’de Saðlýk Reformu

Health Reform in Turkey

Stathis Giannakopoulos, Elias Kondilis , Magda Gavana,

Emmanouil Smyrnakis,Thomai Stardeli, Alexandros Panos,

Theodoros Zdoukos , Benos Alexis – Yunanistan / Greece

Yunanistan’da Kapitalizmin Krizi ve Saðlýk Reformu

Capitalism crisis and health care reform in Greece

Saðlýk Sektöründe Piyasalaþma Örnekleri

Marketing Examples in Health Sector

Kayýhan Pala – Türkiye / Turkey

Piyasalaþma mekanizmalarý

Mechanisms of marketization

Nurettin Abacýoðlu – Türkiye / Turkey

Ýlaç Endüstrisi ve Küresel Kapitalizm

Pharmaceutical Industry in Global Capitalism

Safak Taner – Türkiye / Turkey

Aþýlar ve Küresel Kapitalizm

Vaccines in Global Capitalism

Neoliberal Ekonomik Politikalarýn Saðlýk Çalýþanlarýna Etkisi

The effects of neoliberal economic policies on health care workers

Özlem Özkan – Türkiye / Turkey

Saðlýk Çalýþanlarýnýn Esnek Ýstihdamý

Flexible employment of health care workers

Mehmet Zencir – Türkiye / Turkey

Saðlýk Çalýþanlarýnýn Esnek Ücretlendirilmesi

Flexible pricing of health care workers

Ýlker Belek – Türkiye / Turkey

Esnek Üretimin Ýdeolojik Yansýmalarý

Ideoligical reflections of flexible production

Arzu Çerkezoðlu – Türkiye / Turkey

Taþeron saðlýk emekçilerinin mücadele ve kazanýmlarý

The struggle and acquirements of subcontractors’ health workers

Posterlerin Kýsa Sunum ve Tartýþmasý

Oral Poster Presentations and Discussion

Emiel Kerpershoek, Hans de Bruijn – Hollanda / The Netherlands

Pay for performance in Dutch hospital care: A study of unintended professional

responses to performance measurement

Farah Shroff – Kanada / Canada

The Paradox of Pay for Performance Financing Models: an example from British

Columbia Canada

Eunwhan Lee – Kore / Korea

Impact of health care system on total health expenditure per capita: Public sectordriven

VS private sector-driven

Elias Kondilis, Magda Gavana, Emmanouil Smyrnakis, Stathis Giannakopoulos, Lila Antonopoulou, Alexis Benos – Yunanistan / Greece

Regulation of private health providers in Greece: failure or just a myth?

Preeti Nayak – Hindistan / India

Are Public- Private Partnerships the way forward?

Federico Lega and Francesca Ferrè – Ýtalya / Italy

Health Care recovery plans: what’s for and what’s next?

Muzaffer Eskiocak, Mehmet Zencir, Cavit Iþýk Yavuz, Binali Çatak -Türkiye / Turkey

Health Transformation Program in Turkey\Introduction of the Family Medicine

Implementation: Evaluation of 2003-2011 Process

Özlem Özkan, Aslýhan Çatýker, Aynur Uysal – Türkiye / Turkey

Family Medicine Model in Turkey: Transition from the Public Health Nursing to the Family Health Personnel

Asiye Aka – Türkiye / Turkey

Main actors of Market Health: Doctors and Nurses

Neoliberal Politikalara Karþý Mücadele için Dayanýþma

Solidarity for struggle against neoliberal economic policies:

Alicia Stolkiner – Arjantin / Argentina

Arjantin’deki kriz sonrasý saðlýk ve toplum: ýþýk ve gölgeler

Health and society after the crisis in Argentina: lights and shadows

Hani Serag – Mýsýr / Egypt

Neoliberal politikalarýn baþarýsýzlýðýna yanýt olarak Mýsýr ve Tunus’taki

devrimler The revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia as a response to the failure of

neolibral policies.

Theodore Zdoukos – Yunanistan / Greece

Yunanistan saðlýk hakký hareketi

The movement for the right to health in Greece

Feride Aksu Tanýk – Türkiye / Turkey

Türkiye’de Ýyi hekimlik, nitelikli saðlýk hizmeti ve saðlýk hakký mücadele

kampanyasýndan deneyimler

Experiences from campaign for good practice of medicine,qualified health care and

health right

Alexis Benos – Yunanistan / Greece

Uluslar arasý kar etme barbarlýðýný defetmek için uluslar arasý bir harekete ihtiyaç

var: Halkýn Saðlýðý Hareketi Bakýþ Açýsý

International profit making barbarism needs an international movement to

overthrow it: The People’s Health Movement perspective

Howard Watzkin – ABD / USA

Týp, Halk Saðlýðý ve bir Ýmparatorluðun Sonu? Alternatif bir Geleceðin Ýnþasý

Medicine, Public Health, and the End of Empire? Building an Alternative Future

ACCOMODATION

Suggested options:

Zonguldak Workers’ Union Guest House
2 or 3 persons for each room (8 Euro)
Hoşdere Caddesi No: 65 Yukarı Ayrancı/ Ankara
Zonguldak Amele Birligi Misafirhanesi
2 veya 3 kişilik odalarda kisi basi 18 TL
Hoşdere Caddesi No: 65 Yukarı Ayrancı/ Ankara

a shuttle bus will provide transfer from the Guest house to Conference venue

Konuk evinden konferans salonuna servis saglanacaktir

Elit Palas Hotel ****
55 Euro (Single)/ 80 Euro (Double)
Bestekar Sokak No: 26 Kavaklıdere/Çankaya
Otel Elit Palas ****
55 Euro (Tek kişi) / 80 Euro (İki kişi)
Bestekar Sokak No: 26 Kavaklıdere/Çankaya
this hotel is within 10 minutes walking distance from the Conference venue

bu otel konferans salonuna 10 dakikalik yurume mesafesindedir

For the above two options please make your reservation in due time

yukardaki seceneklerden birine rezervasyon yapmak icin

For reservation send an e mail to yonetim@ttb.org.tr
Rezervasyon icin yonetim@ttb.org.tr adresine e posta gonderin

Use the Conference Poster to disseminate information:

go to http://www.healthp.org/documents/index.php and then form the topics choose: Health Policy-IAHP-PHM-REDS and dowload the second item

Heath Policy in Europe: Contemporary dilemmas & challenges, a IAHPE book on line

edited

by Alexis Benos, Hansulrich Deppe, John Lister

This IAHPE book is now available on line for free here

Contents

Section 1: OVERVIEW

Commercialisation or Solidarity? The Fundamental Orientation of Health Policy,

Hans-Ulrich Deppe 3

Social care policies, national government and private interests

Jane Lethbridge 17

European Integration, the Open Method of Coordination and the Future of European Health Policy

Thomas Gerlinger 50

Food and Health Safety in the United States and the European Union

Dr. Philip van Meurs and Dr. Lila Antonopoulou 62

Trade Unions and Health Promotion

Mauri Johansson 86

Markets versus mental health: the inappropriateness of the mainstream health reform agenda

John Lister 98

Section 2:

COUNTRY STUDIES AND EXAMPLES

Health Care in Croatia Market or social values?

Aleksandar Dzakula, MD, Luka Voncina, MSc, MD, Professor Jadranka Mustajbegovic, PhD, MD, Nikolina Radakovic, MD 113

A new prevention law in Germany: Change of paradigm, increased bureaucracy or both?

Rolf Rosenbrock 123

Changes in Drug Approval in the EU and Germany: from regulation to service

Rolf Schmucker 133

Privatisation of health care in Greece: The development of private for-profit health care providers (1980-2002)

Kondilis E,. Giannakopoulos E, Zdoukos T, Gavana M, Benos A 145

National health policy and the ongoing reforms in the field of occupational health in the Republic of Macedonia

J.Karadzinska -Bislimovska, S.Risteska-Kuc 158

Health care policy in Palestine: challenges and opportunities

Motasem Hamdan, PhD 163

Health care system in Serbia: Present state and reform

Prof. Slobodan Jankovic 173

Report on programme Medicines Management in Hospitals in Serbia

Slobodan Jankovic and Tim Dodd 176

Sweden: universal welfare versus market mechanisms and privatization

Gunnar Ågren and Susanne Öhrling 186

Health policy in Turkey in the context of the Right to Health and Privatisation

Fatih Artvinli 191

The results of health reform in Turkey: increased and deepened inequalities

Onur Hamzaoglu and Feride Sacaklioglu 196

United Kingdom: Englands health care pays high price for market reforms

John Lister 210

A review of data on the U.S. health sector

Nicholas Skala and Ida Hellander 229

Declaration of Thessaloniki Conference 252

List of contributors 254

The advertising to users of medicines puts at risk the health and sustainability of health care systems

December 2, 2010

The European Parliament has just approved the possibility that the pharmaceutical industry to report directly to patients about medication on prescription.

This measure, which supposedly done to improve the information of the citizens, is really a major setback to the right of reliable information and quality.

There is much evidence that the information the industry provides to professionals contains numerous biases that magnify the effects of pharmaceuticals and minimizes or hides the health risks.

It turns out to be difficult therefore to think that the own industry that makes the products and it has direct interests to promote his sale could favour a ” objective and impartial ” information, and it is expected that this information is addressed to encourage inappropriate consumption of drugs and shoot up pharmaceutical cost (as has been demonstrated in countries like USA where there is direct advertising of medicines to “consumers”), which is particularly irresponsible and dangerous in a time of economic crisis and can lead to damage patients health.

The legislation leaves it to the EU member states the final regulation of this information, and obviously this way can establish control mechanisms to reduce the worst effects of this rule. Anyway, the experience of USA and Canada leaves room for little doubt about the negative health effects and costs of this measure.

Therefore we understand that the Council of the EU where their member states are present must veto this initiative that represents a step backwards on the current situation, an attack to public health and puts at risk the health of citizens and the sustainability of the European Union health systems.

International Association of Health Policy
Federation of Associations for the Defence of Public Health

November 30, 2010

Grecia, sanidad: Una semana de invitación a la desobediencia masiva

El personal sanitario de varios hospitales del país ocupo las oficinas de hospitales para bloquear el cobro de dinero a los ciudadanos

2010-11-24

“Queridos pacientes”, gritaban ayer por la mañana los altavoces fuera de la sala de urgencias del Hospital General de Níkea. Allí, como en muchos otros hospitales públicos del país, el personal sanitario invitaba a los pacientes a no pagar la tarifa de 3 euros, ni las pruebas a las que se sometiesen.

Ayer, primer día de la semana de pruebas gratuitas en la mayoría de los hospitales, había colas. Se trata de la semana de acceso libre y gratuito a todos los servicios del Sistema Nacional de Salud que la Federación de Médicos de Hospital (OENGE) ha declarado desde el 22 hasta el 28 de noviembre.

La economía griega está enferma y requiere inyecciones de liquidez. Pero no por parte de los pacientes “que ya pagan muchas veces el sistema de salud a través de sus impuestos, a través de recortes en sus salarios y a través de las mutuas de seguros. No es necesario pagar otra vez en el momento de una urgencia, en la hora de la necesidad, en las oficinas los hospitales”, gritaban los médicos a través de altavoces.

Por otra parte, el personal sanitario de varios hospitales del país llevó adelante una ocupación simbólica de las oficinas de hospitales para bloquear el cobro de dinero a los ciudadanos.

“El Sr. Loverdos (ministro de Sanidad) pide en este momento que miremos al bolsillo del hombre y no al cuerpo que está enfermo”, dice Olga Kosmopoulou, médico especialista en Enfermedades Infecciosas del Hospital de Níkea, miembro de la secretaría ejecutiva de la OENGE.

“Desde el momento en que el Estado decide privar al pueblo de su derecho al acceso gratuito, nosotros, como médicos internos, estamos obligados por nuestro compromiso con el código de deontología médica a movilizarnos. De hecho esta semana es una invitación a la desobediencia masiva”, dice, y sigue invitando por el altavoz a los ciudadanos a apoyar y a luchar por su derecho a un tratamiento gratuito, haciendo hincapié en que esta movilización “no es una aportación filantrópica. Es la defensa de derechos. “

“Crisis humanitaria”

El presidente de la OENGE, D. Varnavas, dice que “la crisis financiera ha comenzado a adquirir rasgos de crisis humanitaria. Los médicos internos no podemos permanecer indiferentes ante la grave situación creada. La semana de acceso libre es el primer paso de nuestra respuesta e invitamos a organizaciones y ciudadanos a que colaboren con nosotros por un sistema de salud pública, gratuito, de calidad y accesible a todas las personas del país.

UK: criticism of the coalition government’s controversial White Paper “Liberating the NHS”

PRESS RELEASE: Friday October 1, Immediate

BMA right to slam Lansley’s “deeply flawed” White Paper

Pro-NHS pressure group Heath Emergency today welcomed the shift of position by the BMA to open criticism of the coalition government’s controversial White Paper “Liberating the NHS”.

Health Emergency Director Dr John Lister published a widely publicised open letter to BMA Chair Hamish Meldrum early in August, warning that the doctors’ union could be making a “historic mistake” if it lent any support to Andrew Lansley’s proposals. He now says doctors are now right to have recognised some of the real dangers at the heart of the White Paper.

Among Mr Lansley’s proposals:

· GPs would take over the commissioning of £80 billion or more of services in England: the existing structure of local Primary Care Trusts and regional Strategic Health Authorities would be scrapped. And while some GPs have welcomed the potential influence they might gain from this, a growing number have recognised that they would first and foremost become responsible for carrying through £20 billion of “efficiency savings” which will require many unpopular cutbacks and closures by 2014.

· In addition GPs would either have to spend more time in bureaucratic meetings and administration – leaving less time to care for patients – or employ teams of managers or management consultants to take on this role, effectively creating a new NHS bureaucracy.

· The plan to replace 150 PCTs with 500-600 “consortiums” of GPs opens up the danger of a new “postcode lottery” in which patients in one area get less or greater access to services than their neighbours in another. And GPs in deprived areas are likely to find their concerns and their patients’ needs brushed aside as larger, better-resourced GP practices from more prosperous areas take control of consortia.

· To make matters worse, the drive towards privatisation would be accelerated, with plans to offer NHS contracts for patient care to bids from “any willing provider” – whether for-profit or a non-profit “social enterprise”.

· And in another twist of privatisation, all existing NHS Trusts also obliged to become Foundation Trusts, while the law would be changed, lifting the present restrictions to allow Foundation Trusts to raise as much income as they wish from private patients: with their NHS funding frozen or falling, this means many top Foundation Trusts would focus their energies on attracting wealthy paying patients from home and abroad, rather than on NHS patients. NHS patients would become second class citizens.

Commenting on the BMA’s official response, which argues that the White Paper could undermine the “stability and future” of the NHS, Health Emergency’s John Lister said:

“The shift of stance by the BMA makes it clear that more and more GPs as well as hospital doctors are waking up to the many fundamental flaws at the very heart of this White Paper.

“Many are realising that with £20 billion of cuts to carry through they would not be “liberated” to commission better for their patients, but would instead be trapped in the role of rationing boards, deciding which patients to exclude from care, and which services to axe.

“The BMA’s critical stance now lines them up more closely with the TUC health unions, which have unanimously rejected the White Paper.

“But it’s not enough just to criticise Lansley’s proposals, which are driven by ideology rather than any evidence. It’s clear that this government takes no notice of criticism, and the so-called “consultation” is a sham. If the plans are as bad as the BMA now argues, there must be an active campaign to ensure they are dropped.

“There is no sign anywhere of significant public support for these proposals, which were revealed in July and have been largely ignored by the media over the summer. Wherever people hear of the full content of the proposals they are angry and opposed to them.

“The government has no mandate for these proposals. Both the Tories and LibDems deliberately opted NOT to put these ideas to the electorate in June – because they know full well that if they had, they would have been rejected.

“A combined campaign by all those who reject this commercialisation and privatisation of health care could now push the issue into the front line of political debate, and force the ConDem coalition to back off.”

FURTHER INFORMATION and analysis of Lansley’s White Paper, including a tabloid newspaper, is available at www.healthemergency.org.uk <http://www.healthemergency.org.uk/> .

· Dr John Lister can be contacted on 07774 264112, or john.lister@virgin.net

The right to health for citizens of the European Union, Brussels 20 October 2010

Edificio Van Maerlant:

Van Maerlant Building (VMA1)

2, Rue Van Maerlant

1000 Bruxelles

The objective of the conference is to analyze the currentsituation of the right to health in EU regulations, the situation in thecountries of the European Unionand to propose a letter from the right to health of EUcitizens.

9 A.m.: Roundtable .- The right to health in EUregulations

11 A.m.: Roundtable .- .- The right to health in EUcountries

13 P.m.: Lunchbreak

14.30 P.m.: Roundtable: Proposed letter of right tohealth care for the

Europeans as / eas.

16.30 P.m.: Conclusions and closing

Organizers:

Federation of Associations for Defence of Public Health

Foundation for Health Research in Castilla La Mancha

International Association of Health Policy

Pre-registration is required.

Send the enclosed form to:

fadspu@gmail.com

REGISTRATION FORM:

BRUSSELS

October 20, 2010

CONFERENCE: THE RIGHT TO HEALTH OF THE CITIZENSOF THE EUROPEAN UNION

Name:

Address:

Country:

Institution / Workplace:

e-mail:

Programa Master en Políticas Públicas y Sociales

Programa en Políticas Públicas y Sociales

UNIVERSIDAD POMPEU FABRA- THE JOHNS HOPKINS

Desde hace ya seis años la Universidad Pompeu Fabra conjuntamente con uno de los programas de formación en Políticas Públicas más importantes en el mundo anglosajón, el Public Policy Program de la Johns Hopkins University de Estados Unidos, establecieron en Barcelona el Programa en Políticas Públicas y Sociales.

El Programa tiene una orientación interdisciplinaria y multidisciplinaria y cuenta con un área de formación y un área de investigación, especializando ambas actividades en áreas como seguridad social, ocupación y trabajo, salud y sanidad, educación, servicios de ayuda a las familias, promoción de los derechos civilies y sociales, y otras áreas relacionadas con la calidad de vida y bienestar de la población.

The procedings of the XV IAHPE Conference at Coventry 2009 in DVDs

Conference Videos

Condition Critical: Health Care, Marketising Reforms and the Media

Held at Coventry University between June 17-20 2009

The international conference, organised by the International Associationof Health Policy in Europe and hosted by Coventry University, focused on “Health care, marketisation and the media”. It was attended by delegations from 15 countries and heard 38 papers.

find more and make yopur order for the Conference DVDs at

www.healthemergency.org.uk/publications.php#videos

Novartis threatens Indian generic drug industry

Date: 30 Dec 2009

For decades, India has been known as the “pharmacy of the developing world” for its ability to supply lifesaving generic drugs at a fraction of the cost of those with brand names. People living in India and throughout the Global South rely heavily on these affordable medicines, and without them antiretrovirals, cancer drugs, and hundreds of other basic medications would be out of reach for millions.

However, this fall Novartis appealed a case to the Indian Supreme Court pushing for a more aggressive patent law that would jeopardize the country’s generic drug industry. Currently, India’s law requires real innovation to obtain a new patent. Section 3(d) of the Indian patent law prohibits ‘evergreening,’ a strategy where pharmaceutical companies make small, trivial changes to existing medicines in order to extend the period of patent control on a drug, and thereby extend their profits as well. Removing Section 3 (d) would enable multinational corporations to gain monopolies over already existing drugs and prohibit cheaper generics.

Novartis is challenging Section 3 (d) in order to obtain renewed patent protection of a leukemia drug imatinib mesylate, which it markets as Glivec. Glivec is a drug that has been available for 16 years, but Novartis is seeking a new patent for a recently developed crystalline form. This change is simply a different form of the original compound and does not increase the drug’s efficacy. Gaining patent control would force generic versions out of the market, and put this drug (priced at $2,500 per month by Novartis compared to $175 per month for an Indian generic version) out of reach for 99% of patients who need it.

Novartis argues that “intellectual property rights are an essential safety net to protect the substantial investment of time and money required to bring a drug to market.” However, granting patents for drugs that are neither new nor more effective is not a rational use of intellectual property rights. Further, as Dr. Dabade pointed out in his presentation, it has been shown that more than 40% of the industry‘s research and development (R&D) is aimed at producing minor variations of existing drugs, not at turning out new ones, and that marketing costs are double what is spent on R&D.

This case could endanger the availability of affordable drugs around the world, as the fate of thousands of similar ‘evergreened’ patent requests pending in India rest on this decision. If Novartis wins, accessibility of essential medicines for millions will be eliminated, and pharmaceutical companies will rake in billions more, adding to their already bloated profits at the expense of the world’s poor.

Take a stand against corporate greed and placing profits before people’s lives. Please join us in the fight for health for all by signing the petition against Novartis.

Find more at PHM www.phmovement.org

Tobacco workers are resisting against neoliberal policies in Ankara

The reflections of the General Agreement on Trade of Services or GATS augmented in our daily lives. Contract based work, performance based payment and temporary working schedules, insecurity and unemployment are some of the results of GATS.

Since more than two months tobacco workers of recently privatized Factory of Turkish Monopoly of Tobacco and Alcohol Products (TEKEL) are resisting against neoliberal policies and insecure working which were forced by the government. After the privatization of TEKEL Factories the government made a legal arrangement. This arrangement is made in order to employ the unemployed workers of privatized factories as temporary staff. The workers are no more called as workers they called as temporary staff. They can work only 4-10 months a year, they loose their social rights. They can not become a member of any union because they are neither public servants nor workers. The government forces a contemporary slavery to the TEKEL workers.

by Feride Aksu

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