Gov’t eyes to increase qualified employment

ANKARA - Anadolu Agency

In a press conference, PM Davutoğlu says the government would introduce a series of new regulations supporting women’s participation in the workforce. AA Photo

The Turkish government plans to boost employment specifically for women by making the working conditions better and reducing the informal economy with the new reform package. 

Labor reforms targeted at reducing the informal economy and boosting employment, especially of women, were announced by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu yesterday. 

In a press conference in Ankara, Davutoğlu said the government would introduce a series of new labor market regulations supporting women’s participation in the workforce, and would take measures targeting the reduction of unemployment.

“We aim to make the labor market more effective, to increase employment, and to enhance the productivity of our workforce,” he said.

“By 2018 we aim to boost women’s participation rate in the workforce by one point each year, to popularize flexible working, and to increase the effectiveness of employment incentives,” he added.

State to offer aid for potential house buyers

Davutoğlu said more than 43 action plans have been prepared to reach these targets. 

Within the scope of the reforms, a new program will also be launched to closely monitor workforce statistics to more efficiently direct people to sectors and regions where jobs are available. In addition, conditions for benefitting from unemployment insurance will be eased. Davutoğlu also said changes would be made to social aid that would allow it to be distributed in a way to better encourage people to join the workforce.

“In this sense we will connect the social aid system and employment programs to use them as incentives to promote working rather than let people think, ‘I already receive aid, and if I work I won’t be able to receive this money.’ This way of thinking leaves a considerable, dynamic group outside of the labor market,” he said.

The government also aims to increase cooperation between the businesses and the universities, saying it was important to lure highly qualified Turks abroad to come back to work in the country.

“We need to make Turkey a center of attraction for highly qualified Turkish citizens who previously went abroad to study and did not return,” Davutoğlu said. 

Meanwhile, urban development and housing will also be another chapter of the planned new package, with the government pledging to subsidize mortgage payments by 15 percent when an individual opens a banking account and saves money for five years to buy a house for the first time. As part of this, a portion of the compulsory deposit that an individual needs to pay to a bank in order to take out a loan will be paid by the state.