Decent work in the context of international labor mobility in Turkey: A qualitative study on Georgian nationality labor force in Artvin-Hopa

Labor mobility is the movement of individuals to work based on economic issues. These movements can take place between occupations, workplaces, geographically, or both occupationally and geographically. International labor mobility, on the other hand, refers to the movement of labor between countries. Individuals who are dissatisfied with their working conditions in their geography, the workplace where they work, or the professions they have can make changes for better working conditions. This mobility carried out by the labor force takes place towards regions that are better located in terms of working conditions. Labor mobility is directly related to the search for decent work of the labor force on its basis. Decent work is a concept introduced by the ILO in 1999. It is defined as "creative work" with better wage levels, career opportunities, social security, social dialogue, free from discrimination, child labor, and forced labor. Fundamentally, it is evaluated under four dimensions: employment, social dialogue, social security, and fundamental rights and principles. In the current study, the labor mobility towards Turkey and the working conditions of the foreign labor force participating in this mobility are evaluated within the scope of decent. For this purpose, interviews were conducted with 36 Georgian workers and 8 employers within the scope of international labor mobility in Artvin Province. The data obtained were analyzed with the Nvivo Qualitative Analysis Program. As a result of the analysis, unemployment, low wages, the economic size of Turkey, and geographical proximity came to the fore among the reasons for the movement of Georgian workers to Turkey. Georgian workers are employed in more labor-intensive jobs, especially in tea farming. In terms of decent work, the evaluation was made under the dimensions of employment, social dialogue, social security, and fundamental rights and principles. In the evaluations made, while only the basic rights and principles dimension is sufficient for decent work, decent work conditions cannot be provided in terms of other dimensions. In the interviews with the employers, it was concluded that the employers were satisfied with the Georgian workers and they preferred the foreign labor force as they could not find anyone to employ.