Employment experiences of migrants with different protection status in Turkey

In this study, the employment related experiences and problems of Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Somali nationals, who emigrated to Turkey, and under temporary and international protection status are taken into discussion in the context of social work discipline. The data of the study have been collected by the researcher in accordance with qualitative research methods through semi-structured in-depth interviews with twelve immigrants and seven experts working in the field of migration and employment. The findings have been discussed under three themes: problems faced by migrants in work life, the consequences of immigrants' inability to access the labour market, and policy recommendations regarding migrants. Under the first theme, the problems faced by immigrants in work life are noted as language barrier, lack of equivalence, lack of education, discrimination, gender roles, not being informed correctly, work permit, employer preferring unregistered employment, low salary, not knowing / defending rights, working without work permit, inappropriate / long working hours, doing work outside of job description, harassment and abuse, not being able to take leave and so on. Under the second theme; the consequences of immigrants not being able to access the labour market are listed as negative coping mechanisms, social and political polarization, tendency to crime, child labour, increased unemployment rates, psychological and economic problems, reaction to the government, disagreements among political parties and increased government responsibilities. Finally, the findings discussed under the theme of policy recommendations on immigrants are internship / training programs for immigrants, incentives for immigrant employment, Turkish language courses, interpreter support, integration programs in multicultural workplaces and so on. As a result, the inability of immigrants to exercise their right to work is a matter of concern both in terms of humanitarian, constitutional and international obligations. This issue has significant social and economic impacts from micro to macro level.