LABOUR DIMENSION OF IRREGULAR MIGRATION IN TURKEY

Prof. Dr. Ahmet İçduygu

Director, Migration Reserach Program (MiReKoc)Dept. of International RelationsKoç University, Istanbul, Turkey

ABCDE Tokyo, May 2006

MiReKoc

CONTENT

Introduction Research question: relationship btw international migration and

informalization of economies

Irregular migration in Turkey Transit migration Circular migration Asylum seeking

Irregular Migrant Labour in Turkey Do immigrants create the conditions of the informality? Do immigrants come into picture after these conditions are created?

Concluding Remarks International migration and informalization of economies as a part of the

structural patterns or transformations in our economies

Introduction

Research question: relationship btw international migration and informalization of economies

Are immigrants the direct causes of informalization?

Do immigrants take the less desirable jobs generated by informalization?

And, do immigrants led to a decline in the costs of production?

Irregular Migration in Turkey

Irregular migration in Turkey as a part/product of the international migratory regime(s) in

Europe the Mediterranean Basin the West Asia

Irregular migrant labour in Turkey as a part/product of the structural patterns or transformation in our economies

Irregular migration in Turkey as a part/product of the economic, social, political transformations in the neighbouring regions

Circular migration: after the collapse of the communist system Transit migration: after political unrest in Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq Asylum seeking: after political unrest in Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq

Irregular Migration in Turkey

Circular migration: after the collapse of the communist system

Transit migration: after political unrest in Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq

Asylum seeking: after political unrest in Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq

A Historical Synopsis

1980s - Afghan asylum seekers/settlers: a couple of thousands 1980s – Polish suitcase traders 1980 onwards – Iranians fleeing: 500,000 – 1,000,000 1988 onwards – Iraqis (mostly Kurds): 50,000 (1988);

60,000(1990); 500,000 (1991) 1989 – Turks from Bulgaria: over 300,000 people 1992 - Bosnians: 20,000 -25,000 1999 – Albanians: 20,000 1990 onwards – People from the Eastern European and CIS

countries: suitcase traders, shuttle/circular migrants, clandestine workers

1990 onwards – People from the countries in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa: transit migrants

1990 onwards: orderly migrations of professionals, students, retired people

Transit Migration and Main Routes from and to Turkey

Turkey as a Country of Immigration and Transit

Irregular Migrants in Turkey

Country of origin 1995-2005 Ann. Avr.Total

556471 50588

Irregular Migrants 1995-2005

Irregular Migrants 2000-2005

Country of origin 2000-2005 Ann. Avr.Total

420911 70152

Circular Migration and Labour Type of Migrants in Turkey

Labour Type of Irregular Migrants 1995-2005

Country of origin 1995-2005 Ann. Avr.

Moldavia 51434 4676

Romania 21519 1956

Ukraine 17224 1566

Russian Federation 16892 1536

Georgia 16445 1495

Azerbaijan 12303 1118

Bulgaria 9846 895

Total 145663 13242

Transit Type of Irregular Migrants to Turkey

Transit Type of Irregular Migrants to Turkey 1995-2005

Country of origin 1995-2005 Ann. Avr.

Iraq 107712 9792

Pakistan 47222 4293

Afghanistan 34246 3113

Iran 24248 2204

Bangladesh 17389 1581

Syria 6906 628

Total 237723 21611

Asylum Applicants 1997 to 2005

Year Iranians Iraqis Others Total

1997 1,392 2,939 117 4,448

1998 1,979 4,672 187 6,838

1999 3,843 2,472 290 6,605

2000 3,926 1,671 180 5,777

2001 3,485 998 709 5,177

2002 2,505 974 315 3,794

2003 3,092 342 514 3,948

2004 2,03 956 912 3,898

2005 1,716 1,047 1,151 3,914

Asylum Seeking in Turkey

Irregular Migrant Labour in Turkey

In Turkey Do immigrants create the conditions of the informality? Do immigrants come into picture after these conditions are

present? The large extent and long-establishment of informality in the

Turkish economy is obvious It is not a pop-up problem in Turkey (often not considered as a

problem), it has its own rationality within the developments of Turkish economy (Colak and Bekmez, 2004)

The informal sector employs more than half of all workers (OECD, 2004)

Who involves informal economic activities: those who – are relatively small scale, are sub-contractor, do not have economies of scale, with low capital requirement, with regional and/or family based formations, do not have social security protection, are irregular in terms of time dimension (seasonal, or part time)…

Irregular Migrant Labour in Turkey

The large extent and long-establishment of informality in the Turkish economy is obvious

But also there is an increase in the weight of informal sector, particularly in urban areas, in the country mainly because

there is an ongoing flows of migrants from rural to urban entry to the market is very easy, and does not require any sunk cost there is a need for a competitive structure of the economy due the

liberalization and globalization there is an increase in the number of small businesses and intra-family

economic activities there is still labour intensive economic activities Economic policies/practices in the country may encourage (or at least

do not discourage) such activities “high level labour taxes, in particular social security charges, and

stringent regulations constitute barriers to becoming formal which trap firms and workers in the informal economy, where they are deprived of access to public and banking services and cannot reap benefits from economies of scale” (OECD, 2004)

Irregular Migrant Labour in Turkey

Based on these reports, migrant workers can be classified in terms of their major sectors of activity:

Moldavian women providing household services, female nationals of Eastern European countries and the Russian

Federation and Ukraine working in the entertainment and sex sectors, mostly men from Eastern European countries and some from various

Asian and African countries working in the construction sector, mostly female nationals of Eastern European countries and the Russian

Federation and Ukraine working in the textile and clothing industries, mixture of various foreign nationals engaging in employment in

restaurant and other food-related sectors, and, mostly men from the Russian Federation, Ukraine, and Azerbaijan

working in agricultural sectors.

The migrant workers usually engage in low paying, dirty, dangerous and difficult jobs, typical of the informal labour market. This picture confirms the stereotypes of irregular migrant workers, as a “reserve army of labour” or as a “secondary labour force”.

Concluding Remarks

International migration and informalization of economies as a part of the new international migratory regimes in the globalized world,

International migration and informalization of economies as a part of the structural patterns or transformations in our economies in the globalized world,

Immigrants do not create the conditions of the informality although they come into the picture after these conditions are created; they do the less desirable jobs generated by informalization, and they led to a decline in the costs of production of formal industries; in so doing, they facilitate informal production and engage in the distribution of certain activities.

Thank you!!!!