THE APPEARANCE AND EFFECTS OF REFUGEE LABOR ON TURKISH LABOR MARKETS

Considering its scope and dimensions transnational movement of migration that spreads into multiple areas and layers of social life and evolves into a global issue, compels countries to develop cooperation and to get together on the basis of organizational structure. Turkey is located on a critical geography as being in the midst of global and regional turbulence and in the center of transnational movement of migration. There are many social and economic problems to be addressed through a multidimensional approach particularly pertaining to the population of the Syrians living domestically with temporary protection status and its geographical distribution; the volume of the aids supposed to cover their various kinds of needs such as education, healthcare, security and accommodation; social interactions, cooperation and integration. One of them – as a consequence of the neo-liberal flexibility policies and global competition in the end – is related to the elimination of the need for cheap and unsecured workforce that are required by the labor market through the refugee labor. Within the scope of the study, the employment areas and conditions of refugees in the Turkish labor market are addressed. Furthermore, whether the refugees pose threat or opportunity for the Turkish economy is also discussed by means of various economic indicators. To sum up, it is determined that the refugee labor that arises as flexible, cheap and unsecured has affected employment relations of the domestic workforce, yet exhibits itself as a key figure which can also pave the way for an economic growth in Turkey