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Many workers in Turkey are suffering the consequences of the pandemic, because the Erdogan government has passed some laws that only benefit companies.
By Oliver Mayer-Rüth, ARD-Studio Istanbul
At the end of November, Turkish palace employees can praise the government’s economic and financial policy: the national statistical authority has announced growth of 6.7 percent during the previous summer months. Turkey has surpassed all the G20 countries, including China, with these figures, writes the “Daily Sabah” newspaper, for example. In fact, due to the pandemic, Ankara launched in spring a program to help the national economy that gave many companies the air they need to breathe.
However, at what price this happened to employees, government-related documents do not address. The situation of employees in some industries is increasingly precarious.
The miners protest
In Ermenek, a city in Karaman province, miners protested in front of an Özbeyler coal mine in late August because they had not been paid their 13-month salary. In September they received their money and a letter of dismissal. Since then, the miners have been demonstrating regularly for his reinstatement.
According to a union representative, the company, which is related to the ruling AKP party, alleges the reason for the dismissal “violations of the standards of morality and good will.” ARD. In April, the Turkish government passed a law in parliament allowing layoffs during the pandemic for this very reason alone. A “violation of the rules of morality and goodwill” is, for example, robbery, according to Özgür Karabulut, president of the construction union Dev Yapi Is.
But none of the miners stole anything, Karabulut said. So you could sue him. But that is tedious and expensive. The Özbeyler company responded to a request for ARD not answered.
Last week, the miners wanted to march to the capital, Ankara, to draw attention to their situation there. But the governor of Karaman province was quick to rule that protest marches were banned due to the Covid pandemic. The workers marched anyway and were detained by the police with tear gas. There were several arrests.
Compulsory unpaid leave under criticism
Metal workers from a total of three companies also wanted to march to Ankara from the city of Kocaeli in western Turkey. There were also a total of 109 arrests there. They are protesting against the “unpaid vacation” measure introduced by the government as a result of the pandemic. Businesses that have few or no jobs and therefore can no longer pay their employees can send them on unpaid leave.
The Kocaeli metallurgists believe that the employers have given them leave because they are union members. The Systemair HSK company responded in the local press that the leave was taken to protect the company from Covid-19.
No more right to severance pay
The union chief Karabulut criticizes that the “leave without pay” is nothing more than a dismissal. Employees receive around € 120 per month from the Turkish equivalent of German unemployment insurance. That is about half the Turkish minimum wage, Karabulut said. Therefore, many employees would have to temporarily seek alternative work and thus lose their right to severance pay with the real employer.
In October, according to the Turkish employment office, 2.08 million workers were on “leave without pay”. Karabulut criticizes that the government is abusing regulation to improve unemployment statistics.
