The Turkish authorities frequently issue new resolutions aimed at improving the situation of some three million Syrian refugees living in its territory.
These resolutions include, but are not limited to, the decision to grant work permits to Syrians present under the Temporary Protection Regulation to ensure their rights to work and avoid exploitation.
In late 2016, the Turkish authorities issued a decision to grant Syrian refugees the right to obtain a work permit for those who have spent more than six months living in Turkey after obtaining the temporary protection identity card (known locally as a Kimlik).
Although a year and a half have passed since the decision was released, it has only been applied on a small scale. Recently, however, Turkish authorities have begun to hold Turkish and Syrian employers accountable for failing to settle their employees’ statuses. The follow up on employers has led them to regularize their employees’ statuses to avoid the significant financial fines they may face in case of violations.
Speaking to Eqtsad, a legal source explained that employers sought to delay regularizing their Syrian employees’ statuses to avoid paying financial taxes that guarantee workers’ rights. In addition, employees want to avoid raising employees’ salaries when according to law the minimum wage is 1404 Turkish Liras (TL).
The legal source made it clear that the decision is to the advantage of Syrian employees as it guarantees their interests, but these decisions often create difficulties when implemented. Since the decision was implemented in Gaziantep, alone, dozens of Syrian workers have lost their jobs, due to bureaucratic decisions beyond their control.
Speaking to Eqtsad, a Syrian man working for a Turkish carpet manufacturer explained how his boss asked all the Syrian workers in the factory to provide their legal details to get them temporary work permits issued. The most important document for the permits is the temporary protection card issued by Gaziantep province.
According to the worker, seven Syrian workers out of the 20 working in the factory were unable to have work permits issued, because their temporary protection documents were issued outside Gaziantep. They lost their work as a result.
“We reviewed the Directorate for Migration Management hoping that we could move our registration to [Gazi] Antep, but the Directorate did not take our request into account and told us that our registration cannot be changed at the moment until new decisions are made,” said the worker.
This worker continued explaining that around 200 Syrians in Gaziantep have lost their jobs during the last period for the same reasons.
According to the Temporary Protection Regulation, the temporary protection identity card allows holders to obtain services and work in the state where it was issued in contradiction to other residence permits which are not location specific.
Speaking to Eqtsad, Abbou al-Hasso, a journalist and expert on Turkish affairs, explained that the Directorate for Migration Management in Gaziantep stopped transferring Syrians’ registrations around one year ago.
He notes that the worker’s complaint and others, which he described as “justified”, are always discussed in Turkish officials’ meetings. He added, “Turks’ preoccupation with putting their house in order in the recent period is the reason why the Syrian problems have not been dealt with.”
Based on these considerations, al-Hasso expects some breakthroughs regarding Syrian refugees’ situations in Turkey in the coming period, because the problems are worsening, especially as need is what prompts Syrians to move between the Turkish states
