Our Business World and Important Issues…

• 02.05.2024
• Archive

There are many issues awaiting solutions, such as the healthier functioning of our business world and production life, and access to qualified employment. One of the most important issues in business life is undoubtedly unemployment. High and long-term unemployment seriously undermines the confidence of our youth, especially in the future. At a time when the concept of social state, which was eroded in many countries during the unregulated globalization process of the last 30 years, has come to the fore again; there are steps that need to be taken urgently in this regard.

There is another very important issue caused by unemployment and the erosion of young people's future expectations, and that is the brain drain that we have begun to feel more in recent years. So much so that no one has the luxury of turning a blind eye to this issue anymore. We absolutely have to reverse the brain drain, which is becoming a more serious problem in our country every day.

One of the most important problems we experience as industrialists in our business world is that employment is increasingly moving away from industry. Today, our employees prefer services and the public sector rather than turning to industry. However, as we always emphasize, the way to develop our country and reach a welfare society is through the production economy. At this point, we must find a way to make working in the industrial sector more attractive.

And in our working world, there are many issues waiting for solutions, from severance pay to labor lawsuits, from compulsory employment to occupational health and safety, to women's greater participation in the workforce.

We discussed all these issues together with our Minister of Labor and Social Security, Prof. Dr. Vedat Işıkhan, our guest at our April ISO Assembly meeting. I believe that the meeting we held with the agenda of "Expectations and Solution Suggestions of Our Industrialists with a Look at Working Life with a Visionary Approach" was extremely productive with the important opinions and evaluations of our Assembly members, which you will read the details in the following pages.

In April, we held another important event together with the European Commission of Türkiye on an extremely important issue for our industry. As it is known, some restrictive measures will come into force in the near future within the framework of the European Union "Green Deal". The most important of these will be the “carbon border” mechanism. In this regard, we organized the event titled "EU Border Carbon Adjustment Mechanism: Climate Policy Framework and its Effects on Companies in Türkiye", jointly with the European Commission, with the participation of Gerassimos Thomas, Director General of the European Commission Taxation and Customs Union, who made important statements.

Last month, we celebrated April 23, an important day for our national sovereignty and our beloved children, which Mustafa Kemal Atatürk presented to our children, our future. I once again congratulate the Foundation Day of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye, which is the symbol of our National Sovereignty, and the April 23 National Sovereignty and Children's Day of our children, who add happiness to our lives with their existence. I wish all our employees, who make valuable contributions to our industry and economy with their labor and hardwork, to have a healthy and peaceful month as we celebrate May 1 Labor and Solidarity Day.

Erdal Bahçıvan
Istanbul Chamber of Industry 
Chairman of the Board of Directors