Minister of Labor and Social Security Vedat Işıkhan attended the ‘Mardin Business World Consultation Meeting’ organized by the Mardin Chamber of Commerce and Industry at a hotel. Governor Tuncay Akkoyun, MPs Faruk Kılıç and Muhammed Adak, Mardin Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Hatip Çelik, AK Party Provincial Chairman Mehmet Uncu and businessmen attended the meeting. Minister Işıkhan, who stated that frequent consultations are held with representatives of the labor force, said, “Right at the beginning of my speech, I would like to convey my get well wishes to all our citizens affected by the earthquake that occurred in the Pazarcık district of Kahramanmaraş this morning and was felt in the surrounding provinces. May God protect our country and our nation from all kinds of disasters and calamities. Today, I am pleased to be here with you, our valuable representatives from the business world who have contributed to the labor force, economy and development of our country and my hometown Mardin. As you know, we frequently come together with our labor force representatives and create consultation environments. I find these meetings very important in order to listen to you more and to be able to determine the needs of our city on site. Hearing the feedback from the field firsthand, in particular, has an important function in solving problems. In a place where we cannot reach our citizens and workers directly, your mediation is very important.”
‘WE WILL REACH OUR TARGET RATE IN A VERY SHORT TIME’
Minister Işıkhan stated that they contributed to the growth of businesses and the increase in employment with incentives and supports, and said: “In line with our ‘Turkey Century’ goal, we are carrying out an intensive work period in every field, hand in hand. We are working on four fronts, especially for our economic development, both in business life and in other areas that concern our economy. This week, we announced the Medium Term Program for the next 3 years to the public together with our Vice President and ministers. Our main goal is to bring inflation under control and subsequently ensure permanent employment and welfare increase. At this point, we continue our efforts to relieve you, reduce the difficulties our employers face and ease the bureaucratic burden without slowing down. As you know, we bring our employers and workers together through İŞKUR and help our employers find the personnel they are looking for. On the other hand, we contribute to the growth of your businesses and the increase in employment with our incentives and supports. In the upcoming period, there will be a period in which our employers will continue to be supported in terms of increasing employment. In addition, as you know, our İş-Pozitif project continues on its path without slowing down. With this project, we have established a system that brings employers and job seekers together online and accelerates employment and job placement processes. İş-Pozitif is a project that will contribute to the solution of problems regarding registered women’s employment in particular and will greatly facilitate the connection between job seekers and employers. Hopefully, we will reach the rates we target in women’s employment in a very short time.”
‘WE MUST PRODUCE ADDED VALUE’
Minister Işıkhan said, “On the other hand, we are in the process of strengthening and revising our labor law. We will make Turkey’s working life worthy of our century-old vision by further strengthening the legislation and making positive contributions to labor peace, social dialogue, employment and the labor market. Look, today, we are an exemplary country on a global scale, especially in social security, exports and defense industry. Similarly, we are in an increasing momentum in employment and labor force in accordance with the Medium Term Program. Although there are occasional fluctuations, the course is positive. These periods of fluctuation are a natural result of the rising process. Changes, transformations and transition processes are not easy; however, they promise prosperity in the long term. For this reason, we must work with much greater determination and enthusiasm and produce added value. Last week, we announced a new system called the Labor Force Adaptation Program. We have implemented a model that is implemented for the first time in our history, especially for our citizens who have difficulty in reconciling their home life with their work life, and that aims to include them in working life. We will continue to support working life with these and similar new practices. “A fair system where workers, employers and investors all win, where everyone gets their rights, is our common desire. The way to achieve this is through unity. I believe that we will carry these beautiful developments even higher with your support. Today, Turkey has become a country that makes development plans for 100 years, not 5 years,” he said.
