Extended Summary

Due to its geographical location and as an inheritor of a former empire, Türkiye has been confronted with various asylum requests since its establishment. The period, which started with the protocol signed between Türkiye and Greece in 1923, continued over time with the migration of Turkish descendants from the former imperial territories who were pushed to Türkiye (Bozdağlıoğlu, 2014; Sürmeli, 2016). In addition to these migratory movements based on kinship ties, there have been increasing individual and mass migratory movements to Türkiye from Iran after the 1979 revolution, from Iraq after the Gulf wars and the Halabja massacre, from Syria after the Arab Spring, and finally from Afghanistan after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan. Asylum seekers are primarily demanding that their need for security be met and that they be given the right to seek asylum. Employment is an important factor in the integration or social cohesion of migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees. These groups could gain the economic strength to meet their own needs through employment and reduce the risk of tensions with the local community. Besides, employment allows asylum seekers to improve their language skills, build new social networks, and have a sense of belonging to the society. Therefore, it is very important for destination countries to regulate the labour market for asylum seekers and create inclusive legislation (Cheung and Phillimore, 2014; Aygül, 2018). The aim of this study is to investigate the access to employment of asylum seekers in Türkiye and the difficulties and problems they face in doing so, as well as to evaluate the misconceptions and priorities on this issue. This qualitative research was conducted based on the principles of the phenomenological approach. This study sought to explore asylum seekers’ difficulties in accessing employment through the experiences of both asylum seekers and professionals working with asylum seekers. It was conducted with persons having international protection and professionals working in different NGOs in Ankara. In accordance with the aim of the research, it was decided to use the purposive sampling method in this study. The study’s data was collected through in-depth interviews using a semistructured guide created by the researchers. The semi-structured interview guide was created considering opinions from the literature and academics working in the field. After conducting the pilot interviews, the necessary changes were made. In addition to questions for warm-up and self-introduction, the participants were asked questions that would reveal in depth the difficulties they experienced in the field of employment. The study presents its findings under three themes: (1) Challenges faced by asylum seekers in the labour market; (2) Problems in assessing employment from a professional perspective; and (3) Common misconceptions and priority issues in the employment of asylum seekers. These themes include a total of 16 sub-themes. According to the research findings, asylum seekers in Türkiye, like many other groups within the class structure known as the precariat, are often forced to work in unregistered jobs, under harsh conditions, without any security, on a temporary basis, but with long working hours and earning below the minimum wage. They also face significant barriers to accessing the labour market, such as lack of language skills and professional qualifications. It is well known that some asylum seekers have difficulty obtaining even their low wages and that there is no legal mechanism to which they can turn and claim their rights in such cases. The inability of asylum seekers to form a union structure and organize compounds these difficulties, problems, and harassment. One of the most striking findings of the research is that persons with international protection status are more disadvantageous in accessing employment than those with temporary protection status. This finding is extremely valuable in understanding how even a group categorized as asylum seekers can have a heterogeneous structure and different needs. In conclusion, it is crucial to make the necessary legal arrangements for persons under temporary protection status and persons with international protection status to have equal access to the labour market. This is important in terms of human rights, equality, and social justice principles. There is a general need to remove the requirement for all asylum seekers to apply for a work permit for any employment in order to facilitate access to employment, and if this is not possible, at least to end the requirement for employers to submit the applications. If the work permit application is to continue, it should be ensured that this permit is valid not only in the workplace where the permit is obtained but also in all workplaces in the same sector. Meanwhile, the requirement to wait six months for a work permit should be changed and at least the duration of the work permit should be increased from one year to three or five more years. Regarding access to employment, the necessity to abolish the quota of foreign or asylum-seeking workers who can be employed in the same workplace should not be ignored. On the contrary, institutionalized medium and large-sized companies with more than a certain number of employees could be encouraged to set a quota for the employment of asylum seekers (e.g. 3%). Unregistered employment and labour is a significant issue. In order to prevent unregistered work, it is recommended that public monitoring and control be strengthened and that civil and local teams be set up in addition to the public system. As a result of combating this issue, in order to prevent unregistered work and child labour, vocational trainings for future professions or business lines can be provided in the organization of local administrations through national and international funds and contribution could be made to the creation of a qualified workforce. Finally, it is recommended that regional or local employment offices be established under the coordination of local administrations for sectors with local or regional demand but a shortage of labour force. All those seeking employment should be directed to these sectors in a registered manner