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TURKEY: TOUGHER VISA REGULATIONS MEAN FEWER JOBS FOR LABOR MIGRANTS
by Dorian Jones
EurasiaNet.org
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/65086
March 6 2012
NY
For decades, Turkey was known for being a source of guest workers,
especially those headed to Germany. Now, Ankara is grappling with a
migrant-labor issue of its own.
Ankara's relatively relaxed attitude toward visas and illegal labor
had long made Turkey a popular destination for people seeking work
from formerly Soviet states. Last month, though, Turkey tightened
visa regulations in an apparent effort to bring its practices into
line with European Union standards. As a result, many migrant workers
find themselves in career limbo.
In a tale that represents the typical plight of an illegal worker,
57-year-old Moldovan villager Eleni is living in Turkey on a
three-month-tourist visa; the stamp has been her ticket to employment
as a live-in house cleaner for the past 12 years.
The biggest change for Eleni and tens of thousands like her is that
they can no longer automatically renew their visas by leaving the
country for a day, or paying a fine for overstaying. Since the new
regulations went into effect, migrant workers have to wait at least
90 days before re-entering the country on a new visa. Authorities
have warned that the new requirement will be stringently enforced.
"We are all afraid about what will happen. When my visa ends, I will
have to leave," said Eleni who supports her husband, five children
and grandchildren on her monthly salary. "My whole family is depending
on me."
Although Moldova's official rate of unemployment is lower than Turkey's
(7.6 percent versus 9 percent), over a quarter of its population of
roughly 3.7 million people are estimated to be battling poverty.
Like other Moldovans in Turkey, Eleni sends home not only money,
but food and living essentials. An elaborate mini-bus system that
operates each weekend out of a parking lot in downtown Istanbul
delivers the items.
"They are sending everything from food to clothes, and even washing
powder and baby diapers," recounted 30-year-old Maria, who came to
Istanbul from Moldova two years ago, and is in charge of coordinating
the transport of money and goods from the parking lot. "Many people
depend on what is sent from here."
A large percentage of illegal workers are women, who work as live-in
cleaners, nannies or domestic aides for the sick and infirm. Under
the new system, employers are now expected to pay social security
for them - a requirement that could discourage many from opting for
their services.
Marko, one of the mini-bus drivers to Moldova, says the new visa
regulations are already having an effect. "People who leave when their
visas end are going back [to Moldova]. Because of the three-month ban
to re-enter [Turkey], they lose their jobs. No one will wait for an
employee to come back," he said.
There are few official figures on the number of illegal workers in
Turkey. In 2009, the Turkish daily Zaman quoted an unpublished report
by the Ministry of Labor that put the number at over 1 million.
Many illegal workers have some kind of connection with Turkey. The
Gagauz minority in Moldova, for example, have a cultural bond with
Turks. Meanwhile, Armenians share a complicated history with Turks,
and they can draw on the assistance of Istanbul's substantial
Armenian-Turkish community. The Turkish Employment Agency in 2009
claimed that as many as 70,000 Armenians worked illegally in Turkey.
Many illegal workers are also believed to come from the Turkic states
of Central Asia and Azerbaijan.
A desire to prevent such illegal workers from encroaching on Turkey's
job market might explain the visa crackdown, commented Soli Ozel,
a professor of international affairs at Istanbul's Bilgi University
and a columnist for the newspaper HaberTurk. "The numbers of illegal
workers may be growing because of our booming economy and that may
be becoming a factor on unemployment numbers."
The new regulations were implemented without warning and with little
explanation, other than the aim of bringing Turkey into line with
European Union standards. But it would seem Ankara is intent of
getting more Turks back in the workforce.
Turkey has escaped relatively unscathed from the worldwide economic
crisis, making "everything . . . fantastic in the Turkish economy . .
. relative to most of the G20 [states]," said Emre Yigit, an
economist at the international trading house Global Securities. "We
are outgrowing our European trade partners by a factor between five
and 10 times this year," added Yigit. "However, we do have our own
unemployment problem."
Official unemployment rates have fallen from 15 percent in 2009 to
a current 9 percent, but many believe the actual figure is higher.
Meanwhile, thanks to the country's comparatively young population
(the median age in Turkey is 28), 5 million new workers are entering
the labor force each year.
With Turkey scrambling to find jobs for them all, visa regulations are
unlikely to be relaxed. In an interview with the semi-official Anatolia
News Agency last month, Interior Minister Idris Naim Sahin promised
further reforms. "The ministry has prepared a bill on international
protection of foreigners, and it will be presented to Parliament soon,"
Sahin said. He did not elaborate.
For many migrant workers like Eleni, the thought of regulations
tightening further is not reassuring. Citing the lack of firewood
in her home village amid record cold temperatures during the winter,
she worries about the future. "So many people depend on me . . . What
will happen to us if I lose my job here? I just don't know."
Editor's note: Dorian Jones is a freelance reporter based in Istanbul.
This story is part one of a two-part series.
From: Baghdasarian
by Dorian Jones
EurasiaNet.org
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/65086
March 6 2012
NY
For decades, Turkey was known for being a source of guest workers,
especially those headed to Germany. Now, Ankara is grappling with a
migrant-labor issue of its own.
Ankara's relatively relaxed attitude toward visas and illegal labor
had long made Turkey a popular destination for people seeking work
from formerly Soviet states. Last month, though, Turkey tightened
visa regulations in an apparent effort to bring its practices into
line with European Union standards. As a result, many migrant workers
find themselves in career limbo.
In a tale that represents the typical plight of an illegal worker,
57-year-old Moldovan villager Eleni is living in Turkey on a
three-month-tourist visa; the stamp has been her ticket to employment
as a live-in house cleaner for the past 12 years.
The biggest change for Eleni and tens of thousands like her is that
they can no longer automatically renew their visas by leaving the
country for a day, or paying a fine for overstaying. Since the new
regulations went into effect, migrant workers have to wait at least
90 days before re-entering the country on a new visa. Authorities
have warned that the new requirement will be stringently enforced.
"We are all afraid about what will happen. When my visa ends, I will
have to leave," said Eleni who supports her husband, five children
and grandchildren on her monthly salary. "My whole family is depending
on me."
Although Moldova's official rate of unemployment is lower than Turkey's
(7.6 percent versus 9 percent), over a quarter of its population of
roughly 3.7 million people are estimated to be battling poverty.
Like other Moldovans in Turkey, Eleni sends home not only money,
but food and living essentials. An elaborate mini-bus system that
operates each weekend out of a parking lot in downtown Istanbul
delivers the items.
"They are sending everything from food to clothes, and even washing
powder and baby diapers," recounted 30-year-old Maria, who came to
Istanbul from Moldova two years ago, and is in charge of coordinating
the transport of money and goods from the parking lot. "Many people
depend on what is sent from here."
A large percentage of illegal workers are women, who work as live-in
cleaners, nannies or domestic aides for the sick and infirm. Under
the new system, employers are now expected to pay social security
for them - a requirement that could discourage many from opting for
their services.
Marko, one of the mini-bus drivers to Moldova, says the new visa
regulations are already having an effect. "People who leave when their
visas end are going back [to Moldova]. Because of the three-month ban
to re-enter [Turkey], they lose their jobs. No one will wait for an
employee to come back," he said.
There are few official figures on the number of illegal workers in
Turkey. In 2009, the Turkish daily Zaman quoted an unpublished report
by the Ministry of Labor that put the number at over 1 million.
Many illegal workers have some kind of connection with Turkey. The
Gagauz minority in Moldova, for example, have a cultural bond with
Turks. Meanwhile, Armenians share a complicated history with Turks,
and they can draw on the assistance of Istanbul's substantial
Armenian-Turkish community. The Turkish Employment Agency in 2009
claimed that as many as 70,000 Armenians worked illegally in Turkey.
Many illegal workers are also believed to come from the Turkic states
of Central Asia and Azerbaijan.
A desire to prevent such illegal workers from encroaching on Turkey's
job market might explain the visa crackdown, commented Soli Ozel,
a professor of international affairs at Istanbul's Bilgi University
and a columnist for the newspaper HaberTurk. "The numbers of illegal
workers may be growing because of our booming economy and that may
be becoming a factor on unemployment numbers."
The new regulations were implemented without warning and with little
explanation, other than the aim of bringing Turkey into line with
European Union standards. But it would seem Ankara is intent of
getting more Turks back in the workforce.
Turkey has escaped relatively unscathed from the worldwide economic
crisis, making "everything . . . fantastic in the Turkish economy . .
. relative to most of the G20 [states]," said Emre Yigit, an
economist at the international trading house Global Securities. "We
are outgrowing our European trade partners by a factor between five
and 10 times this year," added Yigit. "However, we do have our own
unemployment problem."
Official unemployment rates have fallen from 15 percent in 2009 to
a current 9 percent, but many believe the actual figure is higher.
Meanwhile, thanks to the country's comparatively young population
(the median age in Turkey is 28), 5 million new workers are entering
the labor force each year.
With Turkey scrambling to find jobs for them all, visa regulations are
unlikely to be relaxed. In an interview with the semi-official Anatolia
News Agency last month, Interior Minister Idris Naim Sahin promised
further reforms. "The ministry has prepared a bill on international
protection of foreigners, and it will be presented to Parliament soon,"
Sahin said. He did not elaborate.
For many migrant workers like Eleni, the thought of regulations
tightening further is not reassuring. Citing the lack of firewood
in her home village amid record cold temperatures during the winter,
she worries about the future. "So many people depend on me . . . What
will happen to us if I lose my job here? I just don't know."
Editor's note: Dorian Jones is a freelance reporter based in Istanbul.
This story is part one of a two-part series.
From: Baghdasarian