HATAY (ILO News) – Mr. Numan Özcan, Director of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Office for Türkiye, visited Hatay to examine the impact of the recent earthquakes on employment and world of work.

Having embarked on a visit to observe on site the ongoing efforts and assess the prospective short- and medium-term opportunities of cooperation in the region, Director Özcan and his delegation first met Hatay Metropolitan Mayor Mr. Lütfü Savaş at the Disaster Coordination Centre, and participated in a consultative meeting on improving economy and employment and encouraging reverse migration. The meeting was attended by Mr. Nihat Tazearslan, Secretary-General of Hatay Metropolitan Municipality; Mr. Hikmet Çinçin, President of Antakya Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Mr. Mehmet Ali Yapar, President of Chamber of Furniture Manufacturers, representatives of chambers, tradespersons, workers, employers, and academics.

Director Özcan then visited Mr. Varol Dur, Deputy General Director of İŞKUR (Turkish Employment Agency), and Mr. Abdullah Kılınç, Provincial Director of İŞKUR. They discussed the issues of strengthening İŞKUR’s service infrastructure and explored opportunities of cooperation to increase employment in the region.

Following the meetings, Özcan and his delegation visited the tent camp at Bozoklu locality, and observed the child-friendly psychosocial space established in cooperation with Pikolo Association, one of ILO’s field implementation partners. The delegation conversed with teachers, children, families and psychologies to obtain information on the activities.

Özcan then met with the officers of Young Lives Foundation, another of ILO’s field implementation partners at the aid distribution centre coordinated by the Foundation under ILO’s Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour.

The last stop of the visit was a living space for seasonal agricultural workers in Kırıkhan built under the Elimination of Child Labour in Seasonal Agriculture project funded by the European Union (EU). Özcan met with employers and seasonal agricultural workers to elicit their observations and opinions at the site of 23 houses for workers.

Özcan’s assessment on labour markets

Following the visits and meetings, Director Özcan assessed the impact of recent earthquakes on employment and labour market on three major headings and said: “The earthquake disrupted the supply and demand dynamics in the labour market. Tens of thousands of workers died, many more sustained injuries or even disabilities. Approximately 2.7 million people left the earthquake-affected region. All of these led to a serious labour shortfall. On the other hand, the operations of enterprises came to a halt due to thousands of workplaces collapsing or sustaining severe damage. This reduced the demand for labour in the region. Therefore we are now experiencing serious loss of employment and income arising from the simultaneous contraction of demand for and supply of labour.”

Emphasis on OSH and child labour risks

Director Özcan said: “We see that risks to occupational safety and health (OSH) are on the rise due to the high quantities of asbestos in the region. During the debris removal operations after the earthquakes, workers are exposed to significant OSH risks arising from asbestos, hazardous chemicals or gases, injuries from falling debris, electrical shocks and ergonomic risks.”

Drawing attention to the increased risk of child labour, Özcan said: “Again, there is possibility of increased child labour risk in the coming days for parents are unable to work and schools are closed.”

Emphasis on public employment services

Emphasizing public employment services, Director Özcan stated that “We observed that labour market actors were adversely affected where for example, İŞKUR’s buildings collapsed or were damaged, and employees died or left the region. It is critical at this time that public employment services should be effectively provided so that employment be rapidly stimulated.”

“Appropriate accommodation and working conditions should be provided to public employees so that public employment services can be performed effectively”

Presenting his impressions on meetings in Hatay, Director Özcan noted that “For employment to rebound, it is necessary first to build quality accommodation areas for those who left the earthquake-affected region to return, implement active and passive employment policy measures encouraging people to return, provide incentives for enterprises to resume operations, and prepare premises for production of goods and services. On the other hand, appropriate accommodation and working conditions should be provided to public employees so that public services can be performed effectively.”

Expressing that ILO was ready to support such efforts, Özcan added that they would in priority support İŞKUR’s service units and programme of work for public good introduced for earthquake victims. In addition, they would soon initiate efforts on such matters enterprise support, employment impact assessment, and protecting fundamental labour rights.

Director Özcan highlighted that they were resolute to work in cooperation with the government, social partners, donors and UN agencies to ensure that early recovery and build-back would be better, more sustainable, greener and smarter.

Work undertaken in the earthquake-affected region and further plans

ILO provide 2 million USD of assistance to the region

The ILO Office for Türkiye engaged, from the early days of the disaster, in intensive work with the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and donors to ensure that the current project resources could be put to rapid use for earthquake victims. In this context, through two projects funded by the German Development Bank (KfW) and European Union (EU), ILO provided emergency aid worth of 2 million USD to the region. At the first stage, the following were distributed: 2,500 sets of clothing, 8,250 hygiene packs, 2,000 packs of hot meal and food, 240 cabins for WC and shower, 1,650 winter tents, 3,960 sleeping bags and 2,860 pillows. Further, psychosocial support is provided at the playground established for children.

In addition, work is continued to supply containers to serve as İŞKUR’s service units and increase the number of people benefitting from the work for social good introduced by İŞKUR for earthquake victims.

Following a rapid data collection and assessment of labour market related needs, ILO will prepare a comprehensive programme to alleviate the impact of the earthquake and enable a rapid recovery.

ILO executes its work within the United Nations humanitarian aid coordination structure and in liaison with Turkish authorities. ILO also called for a funding support of 10.5 million USD for employment-oriented infrastructure investment and debris removal operations under the Flash Appeal Türkiye issued by the United Nations on 16 February 2023 to respond to the humanitarian needs.