Survey: Lawyers work under poverty line in Turkey

* Photo: Lawyers Union

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The Lawyers' Union shared the results of the Lawyers' Socio-Economic Standing Survey at a press conference on April 5.

The surveys were conducted with the participation of 340 lawyers in early March 2022. The study was aimed at identifying the effects of the economic crisis on lawyers. Most of the participants were from the provinces of İstanbul, Ankara and İzmir, three major cities of Turkey.

There was also participation in the survey from the provinces of Bursa, Antalya, Samsun, Gaziantep, Aydın, Isparta, Kayseri, Uşak, Eskişehir, Tokat, Mersin, Konya, Kocaeli, Ağrı, Van, Manisa, Giresun, Kütahya, Kırklareli, Denizli, Afyon, Sivas, Osmaniye, Aksaray, Malatya, Muğla, Sakarya, Adana, Tekirdağ, Rize, Kahramanmaraş, Şanlıurfa and Ordu.

'54 percent earn less than referral fee'

At the press conference held by the Lawyers' Union on April 5 Lawyers' Day, it was noted that 49.6 percent of the participants have been working as lawyers for 1-3 years, which overlaps with the fact that almost half of the working lawyers in Turkey are young lawyers.

The survey results have shown that while 36.6 percent work as self-employed lawyers, 32.1 percent work with another lawyer, 16.1 percent share an office with a colleague and meet the expenses together and 4.2 percent work under the roof of a company or other private enterprise.

According to the statement of the union, 24 percent of the respondents did not know how much the referral fee the bar association sets. While 54 percent work under this fee, 9.8 percent earn an amount equal to the referral fee and 36.2 percent earn over this amount.

For 2022, the referral fee set by the İstanbul Bar Association is 5,792 Turkish Lira (TRY), the fee set by the Ankara Bar Association is 6,000 TRY, İzmir Bar Association 7,976 TRY and Kocaeli Bar 5,000 TRY.

The survey results have shown that 36.1 percent of those who work for another lawyer get a salary of 3,000-5,000 TRY while 36.1 percent earn 5,000-7,000 TRY. 7 percent said that their salary stands between 1,000 and 3,000 TRY. Only 9.8 percent of the lawyers said that they work for over 10,000 TRY. The union has commented on these figures as follows:

"In an economic picture where the minimum wage stands at 4,253 TRY today and the poverty and starvation lines are well over this, it is safe to say that lawyers apparently work under the poverty line".

74 percent have difficulty making ends meet

While all participants said that their income can only cover their food-beverage, housing (electricity, water, natural gas), rent and transportation expenses, 83.8 percent said that their income does not suffice to improve themselves culturally and professionally.

According to survey results, 40.5 percent can hardly make ends meet and 23.5 percent are in an economically difficult situation. 29.8 percent of the participants defined their economic situation as "normal" while only 2.7 percent said they are in a very good economic condition.

"So, 74 percent of the lawyers say that they are poor and cannot make ends meet," the union said, commenting on these results.

The survey results have also demonstrated that 97.6 percent of the lawyers cannot get their overtime pay and the social security premiums of 58.8 percent are not paid based on their real salaries.

Moreover, 68.8 percent of the respondents said that they were subjected to mobbing and 98.8 percent of them did not report it to their bar associations. While 68.8 percent of the lawyers said that they were subjected to mobbing at least once during their professional lives, 82.7 percent indicated that they have a colleague who has been subjected to mobbing. (AS/SD)