Turkey bars firms from laying off workers amid pandemic

Turkey bars firms from laying off workers amid pandemic
Turkish police officers patrol a deserted Istiklal street at Taksim district in Istanbul on April 12,2020 after a curfew was imposed. (AFP)
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Updated 17 April 2020
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Turkey bars firms from laying off workers amid pandemic

Turkey bars firms from laying off workers amid pandemic

DUBAI: No Turkish employers are allowed to lay off any worker during the coronavirus pandemic, declared Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk, the country’s labor, social services and family minister.

Likewise, employment contracts cannot be nullified for a three-month period except in unconscionable situations, Selçuk added.

Turkey will also pay 39.24 Turkish liras, or about $5.70, a day for three months to workers who were forced to take unpaid leaves due to the coronavirus outbreak, Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk said in a tweet.

Selçuk added that the ministry will bear expenses for elderly and disabled people at private nursing homes and care centers.

Several new steps to mitigate the pandemic’s impact on economic and social life were approved by the Turkish parliament early on April 16.