Turkey bans layoffs, offers salary support in earthquake zone

Ogun Sever Okur, a 38-year-old man inflates ballons on the debris of a collapsed building in Antakya, Turkey Tuesday. They are ‘the last toys’ of children who died during the earthquake, explained Okur. Pic/AFP

Turkey launched a temporary wage support scheme and banned layoffs in 10 cities on Wednesday to protect workers and businesses from the financial impact of the massive earthquakes that hit the south of the country earlier this month. The moves are part of the Turkish government's steps to minimise the economic impact of Turkey's worst earthquake in modern history that left tens of thousands dead.

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Employers whose workplaces were "heavily or moderately damaged" would benefit from support to partially cover wages of workers whose hours had been cut, the country's Official Gazette said on Wednesday. A ban on layoffs was also introduced in 10 earthquake-hit provinces covered by a state of emergency. Turkish Parliament imposed the state of emergency for three months on Feb. 7, after a request by President Tayyip Erdogan. The government also offered salary support and imposed a layoff ban in 2020 in an attempt to mitigate the economic blow from COVID-19.

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake on Feb. 6 killed more than 47,000 people, damaged or destroyed hundreds of thousands of buildings in Turkey and Syria and left millions homeless. In Turkey, 8,65,000 people are living in tents and 23,500 in containers, while 3,76,000 are in student dormitories and public guesthouses outside the earthquake zone, President Erdogan said on Tuesday.

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