Minister Işıkhan attended the International Conference on Labour Life and Social Protection in Turkic States

Speaking at the conference, Minister Işıkhan expressed his pleasure to be together with the labour ministers of the countries of the Organisation of Turkic States and said: ‘Today, we are here together to strengthen our fraternity and solidarity through collaborative works and to build the future in a stronger way. Although our countries, which harbour a single nation living in different states with independent borders throughout history, our hearts have always remained connected to each other.’

Mentioning that the geography of the Turkish states is a geography that has hosted great civilisations that have shaped the history of mankind, Işıkhan continued his words as follows;

“The geography we share, which has a history of thousands of years, has been a place where moral principles and social solidarity have been kept alive in the light of our ancient values. Our common view of labour life has been shaped in the same climate with the principle of ‘let people live, so the state will live’. The most rewarding development of recent years in terms of our interstate relations has undoubtedly been the establishment of the Organisation of Turkic States. The organisation, established with the years of material and immaterial efforts of the member and observer countries, has identified more than thirty areas of cooperation among the member states. Thanks to all these developments, we have important opportunities to strengthen cooperation and solidarity between our countries. Each of us shares the common goal of ensuring prosperity, security and peace of mind for our peoples. The most effective path to this goal is to ensure labour peace in labour markets and to structure social security systems in a strong way.’

Emphasising that labour peace and social security constituted the basis of sustainable prosperity of societies, Minister Işıkhan said; ‘This foundation is also an indispensable element for ensuring social justice and a decent standard of living. The construction of a fair working life in which peace and tranquility prevail contributes to the strengthening of the sense of trust in social relations as well as in labour-employer relations. Ministries of Labour have important duties in this regard. In particular, it should not be forgotten that social security, which is a requirement of the social state understanding, is a constitutional right that protects individuals against the risks they may face throughout their lives’.

Stating that ensuring social securty for citizens in terms of pension, health-care, work accidents, illness and other social risks is one of the most important areas of responsibility of states, Minister Işıkhan said; “In this respect, mutual recognition of social security systems and exchange of information and experience between our countries is of great importance. The first steps in this field have been taken through mutual social security agreements and additionally, various delegation visits and training programmes have been organised, enabling the parties to be familiarized with national systems. The agreements in question aim to ensure that the employees of both parties, regardless of the country in which they are located, can fully benefit from social security rights. Furthermore, thanks to these agreements, labour mobility has been facilitated and the relations between workers and employers have been based on more solid foundations.’

Stating that Türkiye wishes to increase the number of social security agreements signed with Azerbaijan, the Kyrgyz Republic and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the coming years, Minister Işıkhan continued as follows: “Especially in today's globalised world, labour mobility is increasing and the working and living conditions of individuals in different countries are becoming more and more complex. Therefore, as the Turkic world, we should benefit from each other's experiences and develop joint projects on social security and labour peace.”

Minister Işıkhan emphasised the importance of employment and continued his speech as follows; “Employment security is critical for economic development and stable growth. Making labour markets more efficient, increasing the labour force participation of our youth and women in particular, and expanding vocational training opportunities will be important steps to be taken to increase employment. In this framework, I believe that we should further deepen the cooperation between our countries and benefit more from each other's experiences in the employment of special groups such as women, youth and persons with disabilities.’

Stating that Türkiye has already started carrying out a strong cooperation process with the Turkic states in the fields of labour markets, social security and economic development, Minister Işıkhan said: “If this cooperation, especially those carried out within the framework of bilateral agreements, covers areas such as regulation of labour mobility, protection of pension rights and vocational training projects, it will produce much more productive results both in terms of our common labour life goals and our bilateral relations. At the same time, the expansion of our common economic and trade relations will not only strengthen our labour markets, but will also make significant contributions to the welfare of the entire Turkic world.”

Also stating that mutual recognition of professional qualifications, increasing labour force qualifications and providing better opportunities for young people in the world of work are common goals, Minister Işıkhan continued his words as follows:

“In cooperation with other Turkic States, our country aims to develop training programmes in line with the needs of labour markets and to implement these programmes more effectively. It is our greatest hope that the Turkic states will implement a common labour market and that our employees will contribute more to the common future of our countries by crossing borders. As the Turkic world, which has represented universal values such as rights, justice, solidarity and solidarity in this geography for thousands of years, fulfilling the responsibilities imposed on us by this heritage is of great importance not only for our economic development goals but also for the glorification of human values. We must never neglect the fact that working life is not only about economic indicators and figures, but also a social structure with a broad scope and deep meaning, in which human dignity, the sanctity of labour and social justice are also taken into consideration. Protecting the rights of employees, ensuring fair conditions in the labour market and strengthening social security systems are the reflections of these human values in real life.’

Minister Işıkhan emphasized that the sharing of knowledge and experience will make them stronger and continued his speech; “The fact that we have young and dynamic populations draws a remarkable picture for our common future. Actually, the potential of youth employment and technological developments in Türkiye and the Turkic world in recent years offer great opportunities in working life. In Türkiye, almost half of the young population consists of individuals under the age of 30 and young people between the ages of 15-29 constitute one quarter of our population. Türkiye’s Strategy Paper and Plan of Action on National Youth Employment for 2021-2023 aims to strengthen the link between education and employment and prepare young people for future occupations. We believe that the National Employment Strategy and our other action plans, whose workshops for the 2024-2028 period started in February, will be enriched with your experience and contributions”.

Minister Işıkhan pointed out that they are working on improving the skills of young people in areas such as digital and green transformation and Industry 4.0: “In this direction, the number of vocational and technical education centres is being increased, and young people are provided with new skills to adapt to the business world. It is the greatest ideal of all of us that the demographic advantage in question will carry the Turkic world to the next centuries in cooperation with our countries”.

At the end of his speech, Işıkhan stated his wishes that the conference would be fruitful and further strengthen the co-operation between the countries.

The opening ceremony of the Conference was attended by Mr. Sahil Babayev, Minister of Labour and Social Security of Azerbaijan; Mr. Sadık Gardiyanoğlu, Minister of Labour and Social Security of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus; Mr. Binali Yıldırım, Chairman of the Council of Elders; Mr. Serkan Kayalar, President of TIKA; Mr. Ergün Atalay, President of the Organization of the Union of Trade Unions of Turkic States; Mr. Kemalettin Aydın, Rector of Health Sciences University; bureaucrats of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security; bureaucrats of the Ministries of Labour of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan as well as Ambassadors, academicians, representatives of non-governmental organisations and other invited guests.