ANKARA (ILO News) - The representatives of the ILO Office for Türkiye, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security – Directorate General for International Labour Force (DGILF), Directorate General of Labour, Presidency of Strategy and Budget, the Social Security Institution (SGK), The Presidency of Migration Management, Ministry of National Education, Turkish Confederation of Employers Organizations (TİSK), Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (TÜRK-İŞ), The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB), Chambers of Artisans and Crafts People (TESK) and the project’s implementing partners; the unions of chambers of tradesmen and craftsmen from Gaziantep and Konya, municipalities of Bursa Yıldırım, Ankara Metropolitan and Küçükçekmece as well as from UN and international organizations, civil society and KfW Development Bank convened to discuss how to improve better implementation of decent work conditions and wide embodiment of its principles within and beyond the scope of the Project on “Promoting Decent Work for Syrians under Temporary Protection and Turkish Citizens” in the Advisory Board meeting held on 21 September 2023 in Ankara.

The Project has been implemented as part of the ILO’s Refugee Response programme which facilitates the access of Syrians under Temporary Protection, people under international protection as well as Turkish citizens to the formal labour market and supports them to develop, strengthen and upgrade their skills and competences in accordance with the labour market needs. It is financed by the Federal Republic of Germany through the KfW Development Bank.

At the meeting it was agreed that strong and inclusive collaborations will be the answer for promoting decent work conditions and embodiment of its principles for both Syrians and Turkish citizens notwithstanding the challenges.

The meeting opened with the speeches of Nejat Kocabay Senior Programme Coordinator at the ILO Office for Türkiye, Kirk Mildner, the KfW Country Director and Ali Aybey, the General Director of the DGILF. Mr. Kocabay highlighted the support provided after the devastating earthquakes hit Türkiye on February 2023. “The project resources successfully re-directed and re-purposed to support labour market and enterprises in the earthquake-hit region to provide decent and sustainable jobs which are needed more than ever. In the 10 provinces the project operates, the ILO quickly took diversified action thanks to the generous donor and coordination among our partners” said Mr. Kocabay.

Kirk Mildner, the KfW Country Director said: “This project is the first in the history of KfW Development Bank as including such high number of partners and with its prompt implementation in line with the government policies. We also believe that the resources are used as best for the earthquake response”.

Ali Aybey, the Director General of the DGILF highlighted the importance of strong collaboration to shape future policies. Mr. Aybey expressed his belief that the longstanding partnership between the MoLSS DGILF and ILO will continue to yield meaningful outcomes in the new phase of the project.

Emily Harwit, the Project Manager from ILO Türkiye office shared the details on the project’s results and prompt support on post-earthquake emergency response. “We collected our results not only by our monitoring and reporting lines but also through comprehensive surveys and insights from employers regarding the impact and performance. On the earthquake response the ILO has been very quick and proactive to use our resources without affecting our results. On the next phase of our project, we will focus on inclusivity with a particular focus on educated youth and persons with disabilities” Harwit said.

In their presentation, Veronica Escudero, the Head of the Skills, Active Labour Market Policies and Policy Evaluation and the economist Hannah Liepmann from the ILO’s Research Department explained how the project has evolved over the time, using alternate methods and methodologies to measure and assess its impact, particularly on-the-job trainings.

The meeting concluded with the discussions and feedbacks from the implementing partners, civil society and the DGILF on the working conditions, legal status, challenges in the working lives at both individual and institutional level within the Syrians under Temporary Protection and Turkish Citizens context.

For more information:

About the Project: https://www.ilo.org/ankara/projects/WCMS_710959/lang--en/index.htm