11 provinces destroyed by the earthquake are full of unemployed factories, some of which will never be opened

The 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes in Kahramanmaraş destroyed the economy of 11 provinces.

There are 57 organized industrial zones (OIZs) in Kahramanmaraş, Gaziantep, Hatay, Osmaniye, Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakır, Şanlıurfa, Adıyaman and Kilis. There are approximately 540 thousand employees in 4 thousand 500 enterprises here. 23 OSB took the heaviest damage. In Kahramanmaraş, Hatay and Adıyaman, the economy has come to a complete standstill. In the earthquake region, where natural gas and electricity cannot be fully supplied, some factories will never be opened.

50 percent disappeared

According to the business people operating in the region, we may encounter factories without workers even if they are opened. The provinces hit by the earthquake produce the main raw materials of textile and the footsteps of a raw material crisis are heard in the sector.

Şahin Balcıoğlu, former President of Kahramanmaraş Chamber of Commerce and Industry, “50 percent of the city was destroyed both building and economically. Too many of our people were trapped under the rubble. Most of the survivors leave the city. We cannot say to a person who has lost a loved one, come and work. Now is the time to heal the wounds. Not a single business is currently operating. We will have businesses that will never open. We can only heal the wounds together, but it may take a year. Currently, electricity and natural gas are supplied to the city piecemeal. The housing problem needs to be solved urgently.” said.

(Sahin Balcioglu)

Hikmet Çinçin, Chairman of the Antakya Chamber of Commerce and Industry, also drew attention to the following: “In Antakya OIZ, 95 percent of the buildings are intact, but most of the employees are victims of the earthquake. All of the 1500 enterprises in the industrial estates, which we call the sub-industry, were burned. If we cannot raise these, it will not be possible for us to provide a sustainable industry in the city. Here, safe accommodation areas need to be established for businesses to work again and for trained personnel to stay. Temporary containers should be set up for tradesmen. Grant support or long-term credit is a must for small industrial sites.”

(Hikmet Cincin)

The share of earthquake provinces in industry is 11.2 percent according to 2021 data. The share of these provinces is 8.7 percent in construction and real estate, 7.1 percent in services, 4.3 percent in finance, 2. percent in information and communication. Again, their contribution to national income is 9.3 percent and their contribution to agricultural activity is 14.3 percent.

GROWTH REDUCED 2 POINTS

The earthquake is expected to cause billions of TL rebuilding costs to the economy and cause a 1-2 percentage point decline in growth this year. In addition, the region realizes 8.5 percent of Turkey’s total exports and 6.7 percent of total imports. Several billion dollars are expected to be lost in exports and imports from the region throughout the year.

(Arzu Cerkezoglu)

‘SHORT WORK MUST BE UNCONDITIONAL’

There are approximately 2 million workers in the earthquake zone. In addition, a very large population, including civil servants, tradesmen and farmers, was severely affected by the earthquake. DISK President Arzu Cerkezoglu, listed the steps that need to be taken urgently to protect employees as follows:

“Immediate dismissal ban should be imposed in order to protect workers damaged by the earthquake. Unemployed earthquake victims should benefit from unemployment benefits without any preconditions. Short-time working allowance should also be given without preconditions. Severance pay should be paid to earthquake victims who want to quit their job due to the earthquake. New employment should be created and employers should be obliged to employ disaster victims.”