bulgaria/network meeting/feb 2012

1. HOME-BASED WORKING
WOMEN IN TURKEY
S.Nazik IŞIK
Working Group on Woman Home-based Workers
25 Februrary 2012, Sofia-Bulgaria

2. On behalf of the Working Group on Woman Home-
based Workers;
1) We would like to thank you for inviting us to
participate to this meeting and to your work
2) We would like to become a member of the Eastern
Europe and Balkans network
3) We would be happy to make our relations
permanent

3. Outline of the Presentation
1) Our group and what we do
2) Home-based work and Home-based
Working Women in
2.1) The legislation
2.2) The market situation, problems and
organisation
3) The 2nd Country Conference (Dec.2011)
and our work plan for 2012

4. 1)
The Working Group,
its objectives and what it does

5. Us: The Working Group on Woman Home-based Workers
Now we are only 5 women
(In the past our maximum number has been 9)
All of us are from the women’s movement in Turkey
Myself: I am a planning expert (formerly), and a social policy and
gender expert
My friends: Employment expert, Office manager and ve empowerment
trainer, Labour inspector, Social worker

6. The Group was founded in 1999 as a support one.
Our common value:
“Labour is the most sublime value”

7. Our Group’s Objectives:
• Increasing the visibility of home-based work and
workers
• Drawing the attention of trade unions, relevant
ministries and other official institutions as well as
researchers to the subject
• Contributing to the formation of national/public
policies concerning home-based work
• Establisihing communication and solidarity networks
among woman home-based workers’ local groups
and individuals throughout Turkey
• Establishing communication/links between these
groups and similar organisations in other countries
• Supporting home-based working women for setting
up their own organisations and developing them

8. What we do (1)
• ORGANIZE LOCAL WORKSHOPS/ GETTING TO KNOW EACH
OTHER IN DEPTH: Gaining visibility in one’s own eyes…
 We have realised workshop activities and meetings in more than
20 cities
3. SUPPORT THE WOMEN HOME-BASED WORKERS TO
ORGANISE AT THE LOCAL LEVEL: Support to women to
organise their own organisations which will render the work
and income permanent; for example cooperative, setting up a
work team, etc.
 we have founded the home-based working women’s
cooperative, encouraged working on the basis of common action
plans by organising 7-8 shareholders meetings a year
• PUBLIC POLICY WRKSHPS TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE
DEVELOPMENT OF GOVERNMENTAL/PUBLIC POLICIES :
Public Policy Workshops, relations with data producers and
publishers such as TurkStat, relations with trade unions and
participation to platforms such as democracy, human rights,
constitution and women rights platforms
 we are member of the European Women’s Lobby, the Women’s
Coalition of Turkey, the Constitution platforms. We have realised 4
public policy workshops.

9. What we do (2)
• SUPPORT TO RESEARCHERS , WOMEN’S
ORGANISATIONS TO DO MAPPING and MATERIAL
PUBLISHING: Horizontal mapping, finding persons doing
similar work, organisation…
 We have given support to a large number of researchers.
We developed our own mapping tools. We have produced a
large number of publications. We have partipated to a variety
of meetings organised by various organisations.
• INCREASE IN INTERNATIOAL CONTACTS: ILO, HWW,
Balkans, SEWA… Participation to horizontal and vertical
mapping work in the Balkans region …
 we have sent home-based working women’s leaders to
the SEWA Academy, we have realised a Balkans workshop
(2003), we participated to the HomeNet International
Congress in Thailand (2002)
• ORGANISE THE COUNTRY CONFERENCES: With the aim of
determining country policies and future oriented ojectives/
demands.
 We realised 2 country conferences in 2004 and 2011.

10. Our Publications:
We have various publications:
-Our own experience, mapping work
-Joint work with trade unions and specialised reviews
-Translated publications from HomeNet: ILO, Mapping etc

11. 2)
Home-based work
and
home-based working women
in Turkey

12. 2.1)
Situation
with repect to legal rights

13. 1) Turkey is not party to the ILO Convention
Number 177.
3) In the 2nd Country Conference we decided
to demand the adoption of the Convention
Our objective: To benefit from the Convention
for equality of treatment for 8 rights specified
in article 4 of the Convention.

14. Legal situation of home-based working
women as «worker»
• They are covered by the Labour Law (Law Number 4857) (Because this law
includes “attached places” as apart of workplace definition).
• The Supreme Court accepted in 2000 that they are «workers» if they were
employed at home.
• As they are workers:
– They are covered by the Social Insurance and General Health Insurance Law (5510).
– They have the right to benefit from minimum wage. (We made our application for this in
2006, the Ministry of Labour gave a written reply declaring this right)
– Those insured can become trade union members (If there is the workplace registration
number)  Those working home-based don’t have the right to found trade unions
themselves (Such a trade union has been founded, the court case is continuing)
• The Code of Obligations (6098) has been amended in 2011. It will come into
force on 1 July 2012. It legislates home-based working in 9 articles under the
labour contract.
THE PROBLEM: NO PRACTICE. LACK OF APPLICABILITY OF THE LAWS 
HOW CAN THE “HOME” BE INSPECTED?

15. The legal rights of the «self-employed»
home-based producers:
• If they produce with the tools at home without employing
outside workers and sell without opening a shop, they are
exempt from income tax.
• Sales in kermesses, in the market place, in the street do not
restrict tax exemption for them.
• Those having a tax exemption can be insured on a voluntary
basis. But this does not cover the work accident and
occupational health risks. And in general the capacity to pay
the premiums is lacking.

16. Right to organise
• The right to found a trade union does not exist.
• Having an insurance number and an insurance number of the
workplace are requirements for trade union membership.
• Registration to small traders and artisans’ chambers is possible
but not realised because of the fear of being formal producers
in the context of taxation and other legal responsibilities.
• Woman homebased workers can establish their own
cooperatives. (The first cooperative was established in 2002. 3
of them are closed because of high operating and tax charges.)
• They can found associations. If they want to do business, they
will be subject to the same laws as companies.

17. 2.2)
Market Situation

18. Why is there an increase in
Turkey?
• In Turkey there is both of the traditional and technology
enabled types home-based work.
• Main reasons of the increase in home-based work:
1. New economic policies after 1980 and increases in exports
oriented production,
2. The crises of the 1990s and early 2000s and further reduction
in already insufficient care services,
3. Increasing poverty and limited formal job creation, lack of job,
high level of umemployment (particularly more than 20 per
cent unemployent rate for young women in the cities)
4. Lack of mobility of female labour force

19. The situation of home-based working women
in the labour market in Turkey (2010)
 In Turkey female labour force participation is weak : 24-27 % (12-13 million women)
 12 million housewives are outside the labour market (Can we measure the number of
home-based worker among them? )
 60 per cent of working women are without insurance
 9.5 % of women working in urban areas are working at home (including domestics)
 86.5 % of home-based workers have an education level below secondary school (60.6
% finished primary school, 10.2 % lower secondary/primary school, 15.8 % are
illiterate or did not finish any school)
 47.6 % work in the manufacturing sector and 45.3 % in services
 54.7 % are in the 30-44 age group
 62.8 % work on their own account (are not workers)
 80.4 % are self-employed/own acccount
 81.9 % are married
 85-87 % of home-based workers are women.
19

20. What are the most important issues?
Workers Self-employed
Invisibility: The statistics are insufficient, Same
lack of recorded activity…  Lack of social
security; dependence is high…
Work / income lacks permanence Same
Working hours are long (At least 3-4 hours Same
per day, can go up to 19-20 hours)
(girls at home and house work)
Middlemen get a lot (In Istanbul we spotted Same (The shops earn, the
middlemen who got 9 to 1 and/or 7 to 1 in upper enterprise earn)
textiles )
Wages are very low (There are many who Depends on the city, the
earn 30-130 Turkish Liras (15-75 USD) per business environment. In sales
month) to the market, income is very
low, competition very high.

21. Workers Self employed
No guarantee of payment (Every Payments are very intermittent and streched
woman has a story of 2-3 middlemen over a long period. There are many who go
who went away without paying) away without paying. Market opportunities,
sales places are in general very few.
They work on their own; are not same
organised, their knowledge about
organisation is very weak.
Trade unions don’t show an interest to Chambers and professional associations do
the subject (Workers unions and not show interest
confederations don’t participate to our
meetings)
- Very risky materials/no chanse to Materials are expensive because of retail
chose the materials… purchase.
-home is workplace. Everybody at home Stocks are high. There is loss of product
has the same health risks coming from because of waiting, it becomes out of fashion
the materials… etc..
Social insurance premiums are Social insurance premiums + taxes are high…
considered high… (being unregistered (fear from registration and legal tasks)
continously)

22. Priorities of home-based workers
participating to local workshops
On the basis of Article 4 of the ILO Convention 177:
• “Organisation” as a precondition for obtaining
legal rights
• Legal social security for pensions, guarantee for
work accidents and occupational diseases, ending
dependence on parents -husbands,

23. 3)
The 2nd Country Conference
and
plans for future

24. Fhotos…

25. • The English version of the 2nd Conference Declaration
(4 Dec. 2011) is available on the desk.
• Our 2012 agenda:
– public policies workshops,
– mapping in 2 cities in 2 different regions,
– a book on women home-based workers with their own
words talked in the local workshops and a leaflet in English
– a planning meeting for the next 2 years up to the local
elections in 2014
• We want to organise a Balkans meeting in 2013.