Page 158 - Syrians in Türkiye - Special Report

GRAND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF TÜRKİYE THE OMBUDSMAN INSTITUTION

2. The Directorate General of the International Workforce was established within
the Ministry of Labor by the International Workforce Law No. 6735 dated August
13, 2016 and was authorized to protect the rights of all foreigners, including
Syrians. The same law also introduced the “Turkuaz Kart” application, making
an important arrangement for skilled foreign workers. However, since Syrians are
attractive to employers because they will work for lower wages, it is not realistic to
register them in the short and mid-term. The most important contributor to the
scheme is that the skilled workforce will remain in Türkiye. Considering that there
is a need for a qualified Syrian workforce, especially in the integration process, it
is considered necessary to make efforts to keep such people in the country.

3. Preventing child labor and abuse is a matter that needs to be meticulously
addressed. First of all, financial support should be given to families who send their
children to work in order to sustain their lives. Otherwise, parents will prefer to
send their children to work instead of sending them to school.

4. There is a need for reliable data on the professional competencies of the Syrians
living in Türkiye. In this context, it is necessary to develop an employment policy
for urgent qualification analyses (“skill mapping”) and identify regional and
occupational needs of the country.

5. It is important to increase investment opportunities for Syrians, to increase
consultation and incentive mechanisms, and to establish special consultation
centers in the municipalities and industry-trade rooms for this purpose to ensure
efficient and correct investments in the sectoral and geographical sense.

6. It would be beneficial to draft some regulations to give businesspeople under
temporary protection status freedom of movement since it is a necessity for the
nature of commercial activities.

7. In addition, the growing concern among local people about privileges given to
Syrians in legal requirements to establish businesses may be a cause of tension
for local business owners operating in the same area and may cause unfair
competition. It is necessary to take this issue seriously because of the reasons
mentioned above in order to prevent reactions against Syrians and to maintain a
peaceful work environment.

8. In this context, taking necessary precautions should be taken to prevent
Syrians from working as an informal and cheap labor force, strengthening and
disseminating the understanding that there is support for the Syrians in order to

158 SYRIANS IN TÜRKİYE SPECIAL REPORT