Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

The Employment Mobilization 2019 Denizli meeting was hosted by the Denizli Chamber of Commerce, Denizli Chamber of Industry, Acıpayam Chamber of Commerce, Babadağ Chamber of Commerce, Tavas Chamber of Commerce, Sarayköy Chamber of Commerce and Buldan Chamber of Commerce with the attendances of TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, Family, Labor and Social Services Minister Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk and Denizli Governor Hasan Karahan.

In his speech, TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that Denizli has a special place with its history and economy. Reminding that 100 years ago, the fires of the Independence War were ignited here first, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “On the night of May 14^th, 1919, İzmir became occupied. The next day, the news of the Denizli Mufti Ahmet Hulusi Efendi, began the fight for freedom in Denizli. Together with the founding of the Republic, Denizli discovered its entrepreneurial side. It attained brand status with its export-focused industrialization. Denizli has become a global competitor in many sectors, especially textiles, marble, food, feed, packaging, copper products and tourism. So much so that Denizli has achieved world-wide recognition for its towels and bathrobes. Another boon are the 3 successful and hard-working presidents representing the private sector. Their hearts beating for Denizli, I would like to congratulate my brothers, Chamber of Industry President Müjdat Keçeci, Chamber of Commerce President Uğur Erdoğan and the President of the Commodity Exchange İbrahim Tefenlili. I would like to congratulate Denizli, Acıpayam, Babadağ, Buldan, Sarayköy and Tavas Chambers and Exchanges all individually, for organizing this meeting and for ensuring that our members are informed in the best way possible.”

- Employment incentives

Pointing out that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called on the business world at the TOBB Turkey Economy Council Meeting, for a new employment campaign, the TOBB President stated that, “We worked day and night with our Minister of Labor. Thanks to the Minister, a new, comprehensive and bold incentive package has been prepared.” Hisarcıklıoğlu described the employment incentives as follows: “Every new employment to be made until April 30^th, the wage-tax-premium will be provided by the government. After that, we do not pay taxes and premiums for at least 9 months. So, for every 1 additional employment you provide, you will receive about 20,000TRY per year.

We have not forgotten those who have economic difficulties and slow-down. They will receive a short work allowance so that they can retain their current employment levels. Apply for these; government will cover fees 3 months. You can get detailed information about these from the TOBB web page or from our Chambers. The architect of all this is Minister of Labor Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk. I would like to thank her, the Ministry organization, İş-Kur, our bureaucrats and all those who contributed to this effort, who supported us with this historical support.”

- Chambers and exchanges are working hard

Emphasizing their complete support as TOBB, Chambers and Commodity Exchanges for the employment mobilization in 81 provinces and 160 districts, Hisarcıklıoğlu reiterated his call for all companies to participate in the campaign. Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that they have established support and incentive promotion centers within the body of Chambers and Exchanges in each province and said, “I am following up on the progress; all of our chambers and exchanges are working hard. Thus, we are promoting this campaign throughout the country and aiming for the widest participation. All of my Chambers and Commodity Exchanges in Denizli were also engaged. They work great, reach everywhere, promote, participate. The local organization of the Ministry of Labor is stands and works with us in every province. Thanks to our Governors, we are organizing joint meetings with District Governors, Accountants and Financial Consultants under their leadership.

We reached out to the biggest and highest employing companies in the provinces and we met one on one. We are talking about employment mobilization in local media. We also publish commercial films on social media and television. I call again on all employers here in Denizli: Take advantage of these historical supports, join the employment campaign.”

- Minister of Family, Labor and Social Services Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk

In her speech, Family, Labor and Social Services Minister Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk stated that the highest participation rate and employment rate has been reached in the last 17 years and added, “In 2018, 631,000 new people joined the labor market. We’ve been able to provide 87% with employment. This ratio is 92% for women.”

Minister Selcuk participated in the Employment Mobilization 2019 Information Meeting hosted by the Denizli Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Commodity Exchange at the Nihat Zeybekci Culture and Congress Center.

Reporting that the ministry has organized meetings in various provinces, visiting 22 provinces in the last 3 months, Selçuk stated that they are fully committed to making a contribution and supporting citizens with social aid and services.

Stating that the business people and entrepreneurs in Denizli are diligent and successful, Minister Selçuk noted that the city's exports increased from 680 million USD in 2002 to 3.1 billion USD last year, and the number of active insured employment has increased from 225,000 to 305,000, making Denizli an exemplary city in Turkey.

- “We’ve overcome the internal and external shocks we were exposed to”

Selcuk stated that the economy has drawn a successful growth chart for 17 years thanks to the dynamism created by the cities, went on:

“We have reached an annual average growth rate of 5.6% since 2002. In this process, we have opened new markets, increased our number of value-added products. In 2002, we increased our exports from 36 billion USD to approximately 170 billion USD in 2018. the number of workplaces increased from 727,000 in 2002 to 1.9 million today; the number of active insured employees rose to 22.3 million from 12 million. Throughout these 17 years, we have survived many internal and external shocks which we are exposed to successfully. Turkey, under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s leadership, has stood firm against all anti-democratic attempts. After each attempt, we continued on our way with leaps and bounds, made stronger.

Ministers Selcuk stated that Turkey today is a global playmaker at the global level in both the economy and politics; contributing to the business community by putting into practice reforms and incentives to reach its great global goals, facilitating the access of businesspeople to finance.