Unregistered Women Workers in the Globalized Economy: A Qualitative Study in Turkey

Abstract

In recent years, economic stagnation and the global economic crisis have subjected Turkish women workers to conditions that are more difficult than ever. The existent lack of proper controls and regulations has become even more pervasive during this period. Effective de-unionization is another reason sustaining these negative circumstances under which women workers are denied their legal rights. In this article, preliminary findings of field research undertaken in five relatively industrialized provinces in northwestern Turkey are presented. These findings reveal a variety of problems that unregistered women workers face: Child labor; high rates of worker turnover; wages that are below the official minimum and that are paid irregularly; harsh and unhealthy working conditions, including extended work time and unpaid, compulsory night shifts; and ill treatment and sexual harrassment by employers and foremen. The work histories of the 213 participants of the study, most of whom had started working at ages 12-15, indicate that a slave-like system has been operating for a relatively long time. Saying that this hidden labor is merely a case of women workers not being registered greatly oversimplifies a complicated structure that is in place and fails to represent its reality.