The number of Syrians in the informal labor force is still rising despite a recent Cabinet decision introducing a work permit for Syrian refugees in Turkey, meaning they still work in poor conditions for a below market average wage.
The number of Syrian refugees that Turkey is officially hosting reached 1.4 million, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHCR) latest report. The money that the Turkish government has spent on those refugees stands at around $4 billion, according to government statements. Considering the costs of hosting refugees, in both economic and social terms, the Cabinet prepared a regulation called “temporary protection,” whereby refugees are given a work permit and a kind of identity card defining their status. Even though the regulation was issued last week, it has not come into force because the Ministry of Employment and Social Security first needs to determine minimum wage levels for refugees and the quotas for each employment sector.
Nonetheless, Syrian people who have been working illegally remain a matter of debate for several reasons. They brave hard working conditions for a wage that is well below the average for legally working laborers, which has consequences for the employment market.
A proper legal framework regulating the work status of these refugees is lacking because the regulation is yet to be enforced, leaving many Syrians at risk of exploitation from employers. A Syrian refugee working at a textile factory is paid between TL 600 and TL 800 a month on average in cities; however, the picture is much worse in southeastern and eastern parts of the country, where the number of Syrians is higher. The average monthly wage for an informally working Syrian refugee at a textile factory in eastern and neighboring provinces of Turkey such as Gaziantep, Adana, Kahramanmaraş and Mersin ranges between TL 240 and TL 500. The hourly wage for refugees is around TL 0.95, which is equivalent to $0.42 per an hour. The hourly rate for a legal laborer in the same industry is $5.48.
Speaking to Habertürk daily, the head of the Confederation of Revolutionary Workers' Unions (DİSK) underlined the further deterioration in the employment market. He said that illegally working refugees encourage cheap labor that facilitates further growth in income disparity, which is already a problem for the country.
Of the 1.4 million Syrian refugees Turkey currently hosts, 220,000 are in refugee camps.
