Syrian migrants in Turkish factories: there but not quite yet

There are currently 2.73 million Syrian migrants living in Turkey, many of whom have valuable skills that could benefit the country's textile and garment industry. And indeed, as soon as the influx began, Syrian migrants (and their children) have been showing up in Turkish factories, not always legally (Turkey being the third most important sourcing country for BSCI participants). Though they are there, hardly anyone has officially employed them and international buyers often have no clue that Syrian migrants are already part of their supply chain.

Last week's FTA thought leadership webinar "Migrant workers in Turkey - top 3 issues identified in the supply chain" addressed this issue and talked about curent and emerging social and environmental risks in the supply chain. Among the challenges for Syrian workers in Turkey are obtaining necessary work permits and registration, logistics once employed and labour conditions. As subject matter specialist Muge Tuna, pointed out, of those 2,73 million Syrian migrants, only 8,000 managed to obtain a working permit as of May 2016.

Maren Barthel, manager corporate responsibility - buying markets at the Otto Group, estimates (carefully) that about 15-25 percent of their producers in Turkey employed Syrian refugees in 2015/16. However, a recent survey by the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) revealed that 95 percent of the companies polled stated that they employed no Syrian workers while 51 percent of the international buyers simply did not know if they did as they have no full control over the supply chain.

15-20 percent of factories employ Syrian migrants

Barthel, who returned recently from a six-year stint in Turkey, said that employers are aware of the legal framework and thus know if they are employing too many migrant workers or without the necessary paperwork. However, in case of an audit, which is usually intimated in advance, they will make sure that the foreign workers are simply not present in the factory.

She mentioned that international buyers can avoid this situation if they are vigilant and have trustworthy people on site. They should also keep an eye out for cash payments to workers as these are not allowed and could indicate illegal employment. Barthel stressed not to forget how valuable migrants are as workers and that they are people in a difficult and vulnerable situation and not just numbers or cases (House of Denim in Amsterdam has recognised the skill potential and already started a project of its own).

Yakut Oktay, auditing coordinator for the FTA, shed light on the legal situation of migrants in Turkey: while even illegal migrants (i.e. without passport) are considered guests by the Turkish government, they need to obtain a legal residence permit and work permit. For companies, the 10 percent rule applies, stipulating that not more than 10 percent of the workforce of any company can consist of migrant workers.

However, there are tight time frames to observe and getting a residence permit is challenging, a work permit even more so as the new labor law only allows those with contracts to apply for work permit, which are only given under special conditions. Also, getting a temporary protection status (for 6 months) is difficult, as the employer should be on top of the whole application process and needs to prove that there is no equivalent Turkish worker for a particular job.

Barthel cautions against regarding the employment of Syrian migrants as an avoidable risks as this would then encourage further illegal actions. She also advises buyers that if illegal migrant workers are found in their supplier factories, not to dismiss those workers as that would make their situation deteriorate further. They must receive equal treatment, and a working relationship needs to be formalized, which admittedly, is difficult but only then, one can operate in a legal framework.

Migrant workers need to receive equal treatment on all accounts

She mentioned two golden rules when dealing with suppliers and workers: to cooperate with local and international NGOs, for example the UN, and to give clear guidelines to producers when recruiting new suppliers. Also, special care should be taken when recruiting through agents and brokers as it should be clear that once recruitees enter a factory to work, they are then the factory's responsibility and not the agent's or broker's. This is especially valid when dealing with age requirements.

Last but not least, Darrel Doren, FTA's senior director for sustainability, analysed growing trends of migration and its global implications. One important point to keep in mind is that migration is here to stay: 1 in 122 people worldwide is either displaced, a refugee or an asylum seeker.

In addition, more migrants will be women, making non-discrimination in the workplace a must.Half of all migrants will be children and juveniles; another issue that needs to be addressed (Brands like H&M and Next have already done so). In terms of guidelines, the ILO conventions should be taken into account and the BSCI guidelines; an additional guidance document is currently being drafted for members and should be available soon.

Photos: Simone Preuss; Wilhelmine Wulff / pixelio.de