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DENIED WORK PERMIT, 500,000 FOREIGNERS WORKING ILLEGALLY IN TURKEY
Today's Zaman
Oct 22 2010
Turkey
Photo: Many Chinese workers are employed by Turkish mine and
construction companies because they will work for lower salaries.
According to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, the Turkish
state annually gives work permits for nearly 10,000 workers, but it is
known that there are still around 500,000 foreigners who are working
without work permits since the ministry is reluctant to sanction
employment for foreign workers.
Recent remarks by Minister of Labor and Social Security Omer Dincer,
who complained about requests from some companies for work permits for
their Chinese workers employed in Turkey, once again brought Turkey's
foreign worker issue to the agenda. "When unemployment is one of the
main problems in Turkey and when the same job can be done by a person
in Turkey, it would be injustice for our citizens to allow foreigners
to work in those jobs," said Dincer on Wednesday. The minister said
more and more business owners have been requesting that the ministry
grant work permits to their Chinese workers. In response to these
petitions, Dincer said the ministry's excuse was that each of the
jobs given to Chinese workers could be done by workers in Turkey.
The Turkish state does not want to employ foreign workers taking into
consideration the high unemployment rate of the country, but although
not officially confirmed, nearly 500,000 foreign workers are known
to be working illegally in Turkey.
Police and the gendarmerie capture nearly 60,000 illegal workers each
year in Turkey. The majority of illegal workers come to Turkey from
the Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Iran, Bulgaria, China, Romania and
Armenia. Thousands of illegal Armenian immigrants, mostly women from
the impoverished countryside, work as cleaning ladies and in other
low-skilled jobs in İstanbul, where many settled after an earthquake
in their homeland in 1988. The exact number of Armenian immigrants in
Turkey is unknown. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in March
that Turkey could send 100,000 Armenian workers who are working in the
country without the necessary permission back to Armenia. "Look, there
are 170,000 Armenians in my country -- 70,000 of them are my citizens,
but we are [tolerating] 100,000 of them [illegally] in our country.
So, what will we do tomorrow? If it is necessary, I will tell them,
'Come on, go back to your country.' I will do it. Why? They are not my
citizens. I am not obliged to keep them in my country," Erdogan said.
Facing fierce criticism, Erdogan later complained that he had been
misquoted in the media, which he said misrepresented his remarks to
mean that they were targeting Turkey's Armenian community.
The sectors that these workers prefer also change in accordance with
their home country. For example, while the Ukrainians and Armenians
mostly work in jobs related to babysitting and home cleaning, those
coming from China are generally employed in coal mines.
The employment of illegal workers brings many problems including
unemployment. Many say that it is a failure that the government has
not taken a step regarding the illegal workers, while there are still
2.7 million unemployed people in the country.
The main reason for business owners to employ illegal workers is
that illegal workers are paid wages below the official minimum wage
in Turkey, which is around TL 600 per month. The employers do not
pay insurance premiums for these workers either. Some families in
Turkey even prefer foreign nannies on the grounds that they are more
educated. The only precaution against illegal workers in Turkey is
fines imposed on them if captured.
According to a report by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security
on unregistered employment and illegal workers, illegal workers
began working in Turkey in the 1990s. The number of illegal workers
increased a short time after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991
with those coming from Russia, the Balkans, Central Asia, Azerbaijan,
the Ukraine and Georgia. According to the report, the illegal workers
are generally employed by small or medium seized enterprises. The
regions where they are high in number are Marmara and the eastern
Black Sea. The report says among the sectors where these workers are
employed are: agriculture, walnut collecting, construction, carpentry,
textile, house cleaning, translation and dish washing.
According to data provided by the Ministry of Labor and Social
Security, 7,302 foreigners were given work permissions in 2004,
9,438 in 2005, 10,705 in 2006, 8,930 in 2007 and 10,705 in 2008.
From: A. Papazian
Today's Zaman
Oct 22 2010
Turkey
Photo: Many Chinese workers are employed by Turkish mine and
construction companies because they will work for lower salaries.
According to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, the Turkish
state annually gives work permits for nearly 10,000 workers, but it is
known that there are still around 500,000 foreigners who are working
without work permits since the ministry is reluctant to sanction
employment for foreign workers.
Recent remarks by Minister of Labor and Social Security Omer Dincer,
who complained about requests from some companies for work permits for
their Chinese workers employed in Turkey, once again brought Turkey's
foreign worker issue to the agenda. "When unemployment is one of the
main problems in Turkey and when the same job can be done by a person
in Turkey, it would be injustice for our citizens to allow foreigners
to work in those jobs," said Dincer on Wednesday. The minister said
more and more business owners have been requesting that the ministry
grant work permits to their Chinese workers. In response to these
petitions, Dincer said the ministry's excuse was that each of the
jobs given to Chinese workers could be done by workers in Turkey.
The Turkish state does not want to employ foreign workers taking into
consideration the high unemployment rate of the country, but although
not officially confirmed, nearly 500,000 foreign workers are known
to be working illegally in Turkey.
Police and the gendarmerie capture nearly 60,000 illegal workers each
year in Turkey. The majority of illegal workers come to Turkey from
the Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Iran, Bulgaria, China, Romania and
Armenia. Thousands of illegal Armenian immigrants, mostly women from
the impoverished countryside, work as cleaning ladies and in other
low-skilled jobs in İstanbul, where many settled after an earthquake
in their homeland in 1988. The exact number of Armenian immigrants in
Turkey is unknown. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in March
that Turkey could send 100,000 Armenian workers who are working in the
country without the necessary permission back to Armenia. "Look, there
are 170,000 Armenians in my country -- 70,000 of them are my citizens,
but we are [tolerating] 100,000 of them [illegally] in our country.
So, what will we do tomorrow? If it is necessary, I will tell them,
'Come on, go back to your country.' I will do it. Why? They are not my
citizens. I am not obliged to keep them in my country," Erdogan said.
Facing fierce criticism, Erdogan later complained that he had been
misquoted in the media, which he said misrepresented his remarks to
mean that they were targeting Turkey's Armenian community.
The sectors that these workers prefer also change in accordance with
their home country. For example, while the Ukrainians and Armenians
mostly work in jobs related to babysitting and home cleaning, those
coming from China are generally employed in coal mines.
The employment of illegal workers brings many problems including
unemployment. Many say that it is a failure that the government has
not taken a step regarding the illegal workers, while there are still
2.7 million unemployed people in the country.
The main reason for business owners to employ illegal workers is
that illegal workers are paid wages below the official minimum wage
in Turkey, which is around TL 600 per month. The employers do not
pay insurance premiums for these workers either. Some families in
Turkey even prefer foreign nannies on the grounds that they are more
educated. The only precaution against illegal workers in Turkey is
fines imposed on them if captured.
According to a report by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security
on unregistered employment and illegal workers, illegal workers
began working in Turkey in the 1990s. The number of illegal workers
increased a short time after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991
with those coming from Russia, the Balkans, Central Asia, Azerbaijan,
the Ukraine and Georgia. According to the report, the illegal workers
are generally employed by small or medium seized enterprises. The
regions where they are high in number are Marmara and the eastern
Black Sea. The report says among the sectors where these workers are
employed are: agriculture, walnut collecting, construction, carpentry,
textile, house cleaning, translation and dish washing.
According to data provided by the Ministry of Labor and Social
Security, 7,302 foreigners were given work permissions in 2004,
9,438 in 2005, 10,705 in 2006, 8,930 in 2007 and 10,705 in 2008.
From: A. Papazian