Existing conditons, problems and future prospects of work permitted Syrian workers under temporary protection in Turkish labor market: Case study of Ankara

The civil war and related conflicts in Syria claimed the lives of many people and displaced millions of Syrians. This situation, which is called the largest global migration movement in human history, Turkey being in the firt place, is concerning several neighboring countries closely. Due to mass migration influx into Turkey, many aids, support and, adaptation activities are carried out to ensure that Syrians have the right to a decent life. Due to the outgoing war and conflicts in Syria, these services offered to Syrians in temporary accommodation centers established in provinces close to the border in the first years, has ceased to be a sustainable, and these conditions have caused Syrians to migrate to Turkey's other cities. Turkey, by granting "temporary protection" status to Syrians, continue to implement social, economic, and cultural programs. In order to ensure social harmonization, first of all, activities for economic harmonization should be carried out. In this respect, the legal work permit right provided to Syrians is an important instrument. Thus, the Syrians who are provided temporary protection by Turkey, has the opportunity to access the labor market since 2016. The Syrian workforce who have gained a place in the labor market through migrant networks, as well as public institutions and non-governmental organizations, is among the issues that are constantly discussed in the Turkish labor market. For this reason, the status of Syrians who have work permits in Turkish working life should be determined. In this context, it was aimed to determine the existing labour market conditions, problems and, expectations of Syrians living in Ankara with work permits and under temporary protection. In this research, the effects of work permit on the participants are examined. Besides, in our study, it was questioned how Syrians' social adaptation was affected in the process after they obtained a work permit. In addition to the working life of the Syrian workforce with a work permit, their views on daily life, social welfare and, the future were also examined within the scope of our study. In this framework, through the field research carried out in Ankara, a designed survey applied to 434 Syrian workers who have a work permit, moreover, the problem was analyzed in depth by conducting qualitative interview to 24 of these 434 workers. According to results of the research it was determined that from the perspective of participants adaptation in the labor market, their social adaptation processes are positively affected through work permit.