In his address to the 51st Ordinary General Assembly of the Turkish Employers’ Association of Metal Industries (MESS), President Erdoğan referred to the complementary role of the international labour force.

Speaking at the General Assembly Meeting, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan emphasized that the labour market is doing quite well and said, “In the first 8 months of this year, employment increased by 654 thousand people and the unemployment rate was 8 and a half percent. In the same period, our employment level increased by 78 thousand people to 32 million 776 thousand people and the employment rate increased by 0.1 points to 49.7 percent. In the 8-month period since the beginning of the year, we have achieved an employment increase of more than 650 thousand. Since 2005, we have created employment for 13 and a half million people.”

Mr. President stated that one of the most common complaints of employers including tradesmen, merchants and industrialists in recent years is the inability to find employees to work and said, “There is a shortage of semi-qualified workers, especially in labour-intensive business lines. In cases where the labour supply is not sufficient, we benefit from the complementary role of the international labour force like the rest of the world. We will continue to stand by those who work, produce and export. Our employment supportive policies aiming to reduce unemployment, increase employment and prevent informality in the labour market will continue.”

In his speech at the same meeting, our Minister Prof. Dr. Vedat Işıkhan said, “By integrating new generation working models and new technologies into working life, we aim for Türkiye to become a playmaker rather than a player in this field. In this transformation process, which is fundamentally centered on serving humanity, we have mobilized all our means to adapt especially employee-employer relations to this new order. In our fundamental perspective on industrial relations, we see workers and employers not as 'social parties' but as 'social partners'. We do not adopt a confrontational approach in labour life, but a conciliatory one. In this framework, we are building the future with the solidarity of the state, labour and capital. We are determined to make Türkiye one of the most important production bases of the world with the great efforts of our industrialists, investors and workers and the support provided by our state.”

Our Minister also emphasized that they will continue to work and produce with the contributions of all sectors, particularly the industrial sector, in loyalty to the promise of “a great and strong Türkiye on the axis of investment-employment-production” , which was given while presenting the vision of the Century of Türkiye.

Following the speeches, TISK Chairman Özgür Burak Akkol presented a gift to Mr. President.