Four in 10 young Turkish workers have no social security coverage: Poll

Şebnem Turhan - ISTANBUL

Almost four in 10 Turkish young employees between the ages of 15 and 24 are working without social security coverage, while 18 percent of all workers are have no social security coverage, according to a new survey.

The poll was conducted with 2,000 workers older than 15 by the Ipsos research company upon the request of the research unit of the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions, DİSK-AR.

While the non-insurance level in young workers between the ages of 15 and 19 hits 43 percent, it is around 34 percent among young employees between the ages of 20 and 24.

While 18 percent of all Turkish workers are not insured, this rate reached 21 percent for female workers, according to the survey.

The poll showed that up to 17 percent of employees are paid under 1,000 Turkish Liras per month in Turkey, much lower than the country’s minimum wage at 1,603 liras.

The survey also revealed dramatic differences in payments for men and women. While the average monthly payment for male workers is 1,973 liras, it is 1,812 liras for women.

Some 54 percent of all workers said they are “struggling to make ends meet,” while 71 percent of workers without any social coverage said the same. In contrast, only 19 percent of Turkish workers who are members of a labor union said they are “struggling to make ends meet.”

Strikingly low labor union membership

However, a whopping 87 percent of workers are not members of a labor unions and more than 60 percent said they did not want such a membership.

While the labor union membership rate among workers hit 18.2 percent in Turkey’s western provinces, the rate is only 1.9 percent among workers in the southeast.

More than 30 percent of workers do overtime in Turkey, where working hours are already much higher than the European or Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average, the study also showed. Almost 8 percent of poll respondents said they did overtime every day.

While the average number of weekly working hours in OECD countries is 40.4, it is around 49 in Turkey. In European countries the average is 37.

In addition, 24 percent of all Turkish workers said they did not use any annual leave, while 48 percent of uninsured workers said the same.

The study also revealed that 44 percent of Turkish workers believe their work health and safety conditions are poor.