Turkey's Measures Against Poverty in Pandemic 'Inadequate Compared to Other Countries'

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The monetary amount of social protection measures taken by Turkey for the Covid-19 pandemic is significantly lower compared to other countries where the disease is widespread, according to a report by the Public Services Employees Union of Turkey (Genel-İş).

The amount of money Turkey has allocated for the fight against the outbreak is 2 percent of the country's gross domestic production and only 2.2 percent of the government's economic package is allocated for social assistance, the report notes.

A trade union of municipal workers, the Genel-İş is affiliated with the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DİSK).

Inadequate protection measures

Across the world, 21.5 percent of the countries announced measures for the pandemic, says the "Report on Covid-19 Outbreak and Social Protection," citing International Labor Organization (ILO) figures.

Among the countries widely affected by the pandemic, Turkey and Italy stand out with "pretty insufficient" social protection measures, according to the report.

As of May 13, Turkey has the eighth highest number of cases in the world, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The country's cases stand at 141,475, according to the Health Ministry's latest update.  

Employers got the highest share in the package

Turkey's economic support package was increased to 200 billion lira (1 USD=6.98 lira) on April 25 from 100 billion lira in March. However, only 4.4 billion lira, or 2.2 percent, of the package was for social assistance, the report notes. The amount of funds granted to employers is 150 billion 968 million lira, according to the union.

"Unemployment will increase"

"Unemployment has become a serious problem in countries struggling with the epidemic," the report says, noting that workplaces where 81 percent of the world's labor force works have been completely or partially closed.

The unemployment will further increase in the countries where it is already high, the report says. Mentioning a recent unemployment report by the DİSK-AR, which estimated that the broad unemployment might exceed 16 million people in the aftermath of the epidemic, the union says the measures to curb the unemployment has been inadequate.

While the workers are asked to work and their health is being ignored, the Unemployment Insurance Fund, which is "their own money," is not being used for workers, the report stresses.

Wages of workers have been reduced with the "short-term work allowance" and with the legalization of unpaid leave, the workers "are confined to poverty," it further says.

Employees whose workplaces had to stop working or reduce work times during the pandemic are able to benefit from the allowance. Zümrüt Selçuk, the Minister of Family, Labor and Social Services, stated on April 16 that more than 2.7 million workers applied for the short-term work allowance and some 44 percent of the applications were approved. The Turkish Employment Agency (İŞKUR) pays 60 percent of the regular salaries of employees whose applications are approved.

Unregistered employment

"The closure of many workplaces with the Covid-19 outbreak has caused millions of unregistered workers to become unemployed," the report further says.

"In our country, the rate of unregistered workers without any social security is 30 percent. In other words, three out of 10 employees cannot benefit from the Unemployment Insurance Fund because they have no social security and have been left to starvation and poverty with their families.

"According to a study by ILO, approximately 17.9 percent of the announced economy packages are allocated for unemployment assistance. However, when we examine the share the countries allocated to fight unemployment, it is seen that the share allocated for the fight against unemployment in Turkey is quite inadequate."

The share of unemployment assistance in Turkey's economy package is 9.1 percent while it is 14.3 percent in the US, 16.7 percent in Germany and 17.9 percent in average, the union notes, citing ILO figures.

In the report, it is emphasized that overcoming the crisis in a short time depends on developing social state practices and increasing social protection as part of the fight against unemployment and poverty. (HA/VK)