Minister of Labor and Social Security Vedat Işıkhan stated that, within the scope of the Labor Force Adaptation Program, they paid 1375 liras per day and 19 thousand 250 liras per month for 14 days of participation, and allocated a new quota of 54 thousand 200 people for 81 provinces.
A meeting titled "Future Perspective in Collective Agreement Processes, Green Transformation and the Future of Working Life" was held by the Turkish Heavy Industry and Service Sector Public Employers' Union (TÜHİS) in a hotel in Ankara.
Speaking here, Minister Işıkhan stated that social dialogue is the basis of identifying problems together, developing solutions together and looking to the common future with confidence.
Işıkhan said, "Collective agreements are one of the strongest reflections of this understanding in working life. At the collective agreement table, the compensation for the labor of our employees, the welfare of their families, the future of workplaces and the continuity of production are discussed. Every compromise reached at this table makes significant contributions to our labor peace and social solidarity." made his assessment.
Underlining that today they have to carry this deep-rooted reconciliation mechanism into the future, taking into account the needs of the changing world, Işıkhan said:
"Climate change, green transformation and digitalization change production processes, trade relations, professions and working conditions together. As our businesses turn to production using less energy and resources, the duties of our employees and the skills they need are also transforming. The change in technology used in a factory directly affects the training needs, work organization, professional qualifications and occupational health and safety measures in that workplace."
Minister Işıkhan stated that renewable energy, energy efficiency, circular economy and clean production technologies create new job areas.
Noting that opportunities for transition to higher value-added production and more qualified employment have emerged in existing sectors, Işıkhan continued his words as follows:
"However, we are aware that not every employee and every business can prepare for this change in the same way. It takes time and support for an employee who has done the same job for many years to adapt to a new technology, for a business specialized in a certain field of production to transform its activities, or for a region whose economy is based on a single sector to turn to new investments. Our responsibility is to foresee these needs and make the necessary preparations together with our social partners."
Işıkhan stated that their goal is to reduce the risks of job and income loss for employees, improve the adaptation capacity of businesses, and strengthen access to new employment opportunities while expanding the opportunities offered by the transformation.
Emphasizing that they carried this understanding into a holistic policy framework with the National Just Transition Strategy and 2027-2029 Action Plan prepared by the Ministry, Işıkhan said:
"We brought together the contributions of our public institutions, employee and employer organizations, universities, professional organizations and other stakeholders on a common ground. In our strategy, we discussed together the determination of the effects of the transformation on employment, the acquisition of new skills by our employees, the strengthening of social protection and the development of new job opportunities. Now, we have the responsibility of bringing this policy framework together with the needs of sectors and workplaces."
Minister Işıkhan pointed out the importance of sharing timely information about planned technological changes in workplaces and their possible effects on employees, and said that vocational training and lifelong learning opportunities should be included more in the collective bargaining agenda.
