Perspectives and expectations of university employees towards education, teaching, and science services unions: The case of Erzincan Binali Yıldırım University

Unions are organizations established to defend the interests of public employees, achieve new gains, and advance them. Unions constitute one of the most fundamental elements of the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey and democracy. University personnel play a significant role in democratic processes through their unions and their activities. This research was conducted to evaluate existing Education, Teaching, and Science Services unions in Turkey, their activities related to Higher Education, and to identify the opinions, thoughts, and perspectives of Erzincan Binali Yıldırım University employees regarding unions. For this purpose, the researcher prepared a survey and administered it to volunteer participants. The study population consisted of academic and administrative staff working at Erzincan Binali Yıldırım University. Data collected through the questionnaire form were subjected to chi-square test. The research findings indicated that while single employees expected improvements in wages under collective bargaining agreements, married employees expected improvements in all areas. As education levels increased, the demand for collective bargaining rights increased, opinions about the right to strike decreased, requests for assistance from unions decreased, and the perception of unions as sufficient decreased. While employees are increasingly demanding improvements in all areas of collective bargaining, younger employees are more likely to seek improvements in wage policies. Similarly, participation in union activities increases with age. It was found that employees at the Yalnızbağ campus are more likely to request support regarding the right to collective bargaining and seeking assistance from unions than those at other campuses. Employees with more years of service are more likely to participate in union activities. These findings suggest that improvements in collective bargaining are expected. This study explores the views and demands of employees at Binali Yıldırım University in Erzincan for the first time. This study provides insights into both unions and employers by summarizing employee opinions and providing guidance on how to take necessary measures. This study can be used to compare the views of other universities.