Illegal worker scandal erupts: Ministry launches investigation into Central Bank!
A major scandal has emerged following allegations that approximately 100 waiters, tea servers, and cleaning staff at the Central Bank were laid off on paper at the end of December, only to be employed without social security since the beginning of the new year.
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Following the mobbing allegations that surfaced during the tenure of former Governor Hafize Gaye Erkan, the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey is now facing an alleged crisis of unregistered employment. According to a report by Sözcü, allegations that approximately 100 personnel working as waiters, tea servers, and cleaning staff at the bank have been working without social security for days since the start of the year have dropped like a bombshell. It has been learned that the employees, who discovered the situation by chance, have filed successive complaints with the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.
According to the allegations, the subcontractor firm employing personnel working under “outsourcing” at the Central Bank laid off its employees in December without providing any notification. However, it is stated that the same personnel continued to work after the new year. On Monday, personnel working at the Central Bank building in Ankara were informed that their job descriptions had been unilaterally changed and their scope expanded.
The employees, who were unaware that they were being employed illegally, objected, stating that this practice, which at least doubled their workload, was contrary to the Labor Law. The employees, who claimed they were threatened with dismissal following their objections, reported the situation to the Central Bank's senior management. However, after failing to get results there, the workers took their worsening working conditions to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.
The scale of the scandal was revealed when inspectors examining the complaint petitions responded to personnel who had been working at the Central Bank for 7-8 years by saying, “Your employment contract does not appear in the records. Therefore, we cannot process your complaint.” Upon this, the workers filed a new application on the grounds that they were laid off in December and have been employed unregistered since the beginning of the year.
“ENTRY-EXIT METHOD APPLIED”
The employees stated, “The Ministry has launched an investigation due to us being employed without social security since January 1st.” Noting that both permanent and subcontracted personnel are employed at the Central Bank, the workers emphasized that while subcontractor firms change through tenders, the employees usually remain the same.
The employees expressed, “The company currently in charge victimized us by applying an entry-exit method in violation of the law. This method is common in workplaces with unregistered workers, but it is extremely remarkable that it is happening in an institution like the Central Bank.”