It is easy for a woman to put in the labor, so why is it so hard for her to retire?

ACTIVIST ERKAN ERDEM

There are women in this country who wake up in the morning not to retire, but to clean. Because their names do not exist in the Social Security Institution (SGK) records. Yet their tired bodies are re-registered in other people's homes every single morning. Every room cleaned, every window wiped is actually a piece of a life that goes unrecorded as work. Can a society whose homes are spotless have such a dirty conscience?

The story of these women, whom the system 'does not see,' is an indictment not just of an individual, but of an entire structure.

THE VISIBLE FACE OF INVISIBLE LABOR

Hatice Hanım is 63 years old. She first went into a home to clean at the age of 17. Exactly 46 years have passed since that day. Neither an employer ever gave her a document stating she worked for them, nor was a single day of insurance premium ever paid for her.

If her husband has health insurance, she can receive treatment at a hospital. If not, she has to pay for her own treatment when she is sick. After the age of 65, she will only be able to receive  an old-age pension of 4,664 TL.

According to state records, Hatice Hanım is a 'citizen' who has made no contribution to the country's economy. But in reality, she spent years working to raise other people's children, clean their homes, and care for their elderly parents.

Today, she is still cleaning three different houses. Moreover, she is now an elderly woman. She has no savings, no insurance. Yet, she is still considered 'present' in the labor market. She is only absent when it comes to retiring.

This is not just a story. This is the life of millions of women who have been excluded from the system.

DOMESTIC WORK: NOT A WOMAN'S DESTINY, BUT THE NAME OF INSTITUTIONAL OBLIVION

There are nearly 1 million domestic workers in Turkey. These women do not just clean; they look after children, accompany the elderly, prepare meals, wash windows, iron, do laundry, and go grocery shopping.

However, under state law, they are not considered 'workers' for even a single day. This is because their work is classified as 'domestic.' It is because this work is coded as 'work suitable for a woman.' It is because this labor has never been entrusted to the conscience of white-collar workers, but rather to the blindness of the system.

The social security system deliberately leaves these women out. If these women, who are employed informally, fall ill, become disabled, or grow old, the system tells them only one thing: 'You do not exist in my records.'

This is not just a class issue; it is also a form of systematic, gender-based exclusion.

JUNE 16 INTERNATIONAL DOMESTIC WORKERS DAY: THE VOICE OF UNREGISTERED LABOR

June 16 is International Domestic Workers Day. It is estimated that there are approximately 76 million domestic workers worldwide. The vast majority are women. They clean homes, cook meals, and take on the care of the sick, the elderly, the disabled, and children.

Despite producing such intense labor, they remain invisible. They are categorized not as labor, but as "help." They receive wages but are not considered workers. They get tired, but they have no right to rest. They get sick, but they have no health insurance.

Turkey has still not signed the ILO Convention No. 189, the "Domestic Workers Convention," or the ILO Convention No. 190, the "Violence and Harassment Convention."

Signing these two conventions is no longer a favor; it is an obligation.

June 16 should be dedicated to all the women in this country who are still unable to have their labor officially recorded.

THE WORLD CLEANED UP, TURKEY SWEPT THE DIRT UNDER THE RUG

The International Labour Organization (ILO) broke new ground in this field with Convention No. 189, prepared for domestic workers. Brazil has provided constitutional protection for this labor. The Philippines enacted a special law for domestic work. South Africa officially recognized accidents within the home as workplace accidents.

Turkey, however, has still not signed this convention. By declaring domestic labor a "private sphere," the state turns a blind eye to the unregulated exploitation of labor. In other words, the problem is not one of individuals, but a structural choice. And this choice is maintained at the cost of rendering millions of women invisible.

ORDERING CLEANERS FROM APPS: THE ANATOMY OF DIGITAL SLAVERY

Technology has advanced, but exploitation has only changed its form. Today, domestic workers are now rented by the hour through apps.

Armutcom, elemanbul, Hizmetburada, etc.

Women have no name, no identity, no social security. They only have ratings and customer reviews.

If they get sick, they are canceled. If they object, they are thrown out of the system. If they cannot please the customer, they are 'dropped from the algorithm'.

 Rented bodies, temporary jobs, permanent insecurities.

Domestic workers are not only insecure; they are often the bearers of labor that is scorned, scolded, and humiliated. The mobbing they silently endure is another invisible but burning face of this work.

EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES: THE CLEAR ADDRESS OF INSECURITY

Some domestic workers are employed through neighborhood employment agencies. Although these places introduce themselves with terms like "cleaning staff portfolio," they are actually one of the institutionalized forms of precariousness.

Women are reduced to file numbers here. There is no insurance, no written contract, and no mechanism to seek rights. If they are late, they are not called; if they get sick, they are expected to find someone to replace them.

The duration, wages, and conditions of the work are left to the mercy of the homeowner. The state does not inspect, and municipalities ignore it.

The result: Women sustain their lives with temporary jobs, but they cannot be included in the retirement system for even a single day. They have to work every day. If they don't work, they have no income. They have no vacation, no leave, no holidays; because they have no rights.

“IF THEY GO TO WORK EVERY DAY, WHY ARE THEY VICTIMIZED?” 

There are those who say, "Cleaning women earn a lot, they go to work every day."

Yes, they work. But this work is not secure. They are uninsured.

If they get sick tomorrow, the system ignores them.

Moreover, they work with harsh detergents every day and touch chemicals with their bare hands.

Over the years, they develop herniated discs, cervical straightening, and chronic muscle pain.

But neither the healthcare system nor labor laws see them.

Many women sometimes clean two houses a day. They return home in the evening with the exhaustion of a minimum-wage worker, but without any social rights.

And most importantly:

The right to secure employment is based on human dignity, not on someone's judgment that they are 'earning too much'.

A woman doing cleaning work today might earn good money,  but if there is no one by her side when she gets sick or grows old tomorrow, and she has no social security, then there is a serious problem here.

The objection to this system does not stem from the level of earnings, but from the disregard for rights.

Because the problem is not just about wages, but about the absence of justice and equality.

LABOR THAT SHOULD BE SECURED, NOT IGNORED

Domestic worker women are not informal; they have been deliberately left out. This is not a deficiency; it is a choice. And this choice can only be changed by a different political will.

The solution is clear:

1) Domestic workers must be included in the labor law,

ILO Conventions No. 189 and 190 must be signed immediately,

2) Municipalities must institutionalize publicly supported care services,

3) Platform companies must be audited, and uninsured work must be prohibited,

4) Women's labor cooperatives must be established and publicly supported.

If there is still a shred of conscience left in this country, we must start from the place that has been most neglected: by recognizing the labor of domestic workers, registering it, and granting them their right to retirement.

News Source: 12punto