24.02.2017 Ankara
In a press statement to the Anadolu Agency, M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, President of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) said that as a part of the employment mobilization initiated by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, “Inshallah, this employment mobilization will succeed with the support of our government,” calling on private sector representatives to provide at least a single additional job for Turkey's future.
Hisarcıklıoğlu said
that the world economy has grown at a slower pace than its long-term average for
the last 6 years and that the situation would be the same this year.
Stating that Turkey
will feel the slow global growth as well as the effects of regional instability,
Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Turkey is an integral part of the world economy.
Following Brexit and Trump, we now also must take into account global
uncertainties in addition to slow global growth. We are following a previously
mapped path. We need to be prepared for surprises.”
Hisarcıklıoğlu
emphasized that Turkey's national income, which was about 1,500 USD per capita
in the 1980s, is now at 10,000 USD, emphasizing that Turkey should be open to the
outside world and become an integral part of the world economy. Hisarcıklıoğlu
said, “When the global crisis emerged, things started to get harder. The USA to
entering a crisis presents problems just as it emerging from a crisis does. We
experienced the first one 2008, now we are in a time when we will feel the
effects of the second.”
- “We must protect what we have”
Hisarcıklıoğlu
underlined that Turkey must protect what it has gained to prepare for the next
economic leap, stating that Turkey was in a transition period so that it could
reach a better place than today.
Hisarcıklıoğlu emphasized
that Turkey is not the only economy slowing down, saying: “Global slowdown and global
uncertainties are everyone’s problem. This, too, will pass. We are now in a transition
period in which the world and balances are reestablished. We need to protect
our power today to be able to make our move once the dust clears.”
- “The government provides important support”
Stating that the
government has provided important support to the private sector, to preserve
the power of the business world, Hisarcıklıoğlu went on:
According to OECD
accounts, the employment load in Turkey is 38.3%, which means that 38% of an
employer's gross wage costs are tax and premium charges. To this end the
government has brought these burdens on employment to zero in 2017 in a
revolutionary move. The employer is able to benefit from this incentive for
every employee they recruit in 2017. For example, if sum cost of the minimum
wage is 2,178 liras, of which 773 liras are paid to the state as tax and
premium. The money the employee gets is 1,405 liras. Now our state says ‘We will
pay for this 773 lira charge.' So your cost falls from 2,178 liras to 1,440
liras, which means the employer's employment cost is reduced by 35%.”
- “Many problems were prevented”
Hisarcıklıoğlu stated
that the government has taken preventive measures against many problems reported
on by TOBB. He stated that all property capital are allowed as collateral in
regards to accessing financing and that entrepreneurs can move more easily
while showing guarantees in accessing finance.
Hisarcıklıoğlu stated
that the restructuring of the tax and SGK premium debts and the implementation
of a new structuring for late installment payments is an important step for the
business world. Hisarcıklıoğlu said that a 5% tax discount for those paying their
taxes regularly is one of the most iterated demands of the business community.
Hisarcıklıoğlu
pointed out that the removal of the SCT on home appliances and the reduction of
VAT in furniture are good steps in animating the domestic market.
Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Interest-free loan support provided by KOSGEB following the
Respite Credit we’ve initiated with DenizBank
and Ziraat Bank, is an important source of financing for the business community.
Are there no other problem we have experienced as the business community? Of
course there are; we continue to relay these to the relevant ministers in
search of solutions.”
- Private sector
employment mobilization call
“As the government
does not hesitate to give us considerable support in the protection of our
gains, we are charged to do our part as well,” said Hisarcıklıoğlu and stated
that they should contribute to the transfer of human capital of the country to
the next generation without loss.
Hisarcıklıoğlu
emphasized that he sees the employment mobilization with this mindset and said:
“I am convinced that
the employment mobilization that we initiated under the auspices of our
President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is extremely appropriate for the culture of
worker-employer relations in Anatolia. I call on the private sector. Inshallah,
this employment mobilization will succeed with the support of our government. Labor
and Social Security Minister Mehmet Müezzinoğlu has announced that between February
1st and 20th, 103,000 people were employed. First
information from Turkey and some companies indicates that the employment
mobilization will be successful.
I invite all
businessmen and businesswomen of Turkey to join the employment mobilization. Do
you remember? There was an ad with the slogan, 'Peace at home; that’s what
wealth is.' I also invite all of our entrepreneurs to support the mobilization
of employment for the wealth of the country and the peace of the homes of the unemployed.
This is the day to come together, to stand shoulder to shoulder. It is the day
for worker and employer to work together. We are an integral part of the global
economy and regional stability; we can overcome all of our troubles if only we stand
together.”