Turkish textile sector eyes Bangladeshi workers

ISTANBUL

AP Photo

Turkish textile industry players are planning to bring over Bangladeshi workers to Turkey, Istanbul Textile and Apparel Exporter Associations (IHKIB) head Hikmet Tanrıverdi has told daily Habertürk, saying not enough Turks could be found for the positions.

“We could not find Turkish blue-collar workers to hire in our factories at the minimum wage, as a majority of them prefer to work in the services sector for the same amount of money in a cleaner working environment,” Tanrıverdi said.

“Syrian workers have saved our sector for now. Many sector players had been planning to bring cheap labor from Bangladesh before, and sooner or later we will call them to Turkey to work in our sector,” he added.

The IHKIB head stated that imported workers were particularly active in the industrial northwestern Turkish region of Marmara.

“Our sector players have been hiring Syrian workers for a couple of years, especially in the Marmara region. There are now many Syrian workers in our sector and they play a great role in fostering the sector,” Tanrıverdi said.