Hairdressers and barbers in Istanbul react to 'Sunday closure' decision

The decision to keep barbers, hairdressers, and beauty salons closed on Sundays in Istanbul has drawn the ire of tradespeople.

A group gathered at Sadabad Square in Kağıthane stated that this decision victimizes both themselves and those planning to get married on Sundays. Protesting the decision with signs and slogans, the tradespeople demanded that the decision be reversed.

'I HOPE A NEW REGULATION WILL BE MADE'

Speaking on behalf of the group, hairdresser Uğurcan Ubay said, “The purpose of our press conference is the decision to close on Sundays, which is one of the days our sector provides the most service. We oppose this decision, which was not presented to the opinion or approval of us and many of our valued colleagues. We are declaring that we object to this wrong decision by the esteemed chamber and federation presidents, who decided on this matter with only 300 votes while there are thousands of hairdressers in a metropolis like Istanbul, and we have come together to defend our rights. We are announcing that at the end of these painful 2 weeks, we are seeking our rights through peaceful means. We are following this painful process, and in order to stop this decision, we have submitted our request to the administrative court through our valued lawyers. By making the voices of our thousands of colleagues who have signed our petition heard, we hope that with your support, we will be able to make a new regulation with our esteemed governor and minister of trade after this meeting. I must state that 85 percent of the group we reached in 2 weeks is against the closure. They argue that this decision is wrong. We are announcing here to the authorized bodies that we are the spokespeople for our colleagues who are against the decision.”

'THE DECISION IS IRREGULAR'

Lawyer Mehmet Ali Sümer said, “This decision harms both the public and this professional group. The decision taken by the Federation and the Union of Chambers is irregular. This matter has not been notified to any colleague. The election held was conducted in an irregular manner. Hairdressers were not invited to this chamber, which has 13 thousand members, their opinions were not asked, an irregular notification was made to the federation, and subsequently, it was reflected to the Ministry of Trade in a distorted way, as if these people's opinions were not reflected, that Sundays could be a holiday and that this was requested by the hairdressers. First of all, none of the people here accept this situation and they prefer to file a cancellation lawsuit in the administrative court. Filing this cancellation lawsuit will be both a loss for the public and an administrative burden. We think this can be prevented by a new ministerial approval. In a case to be filed in the administrative court, the litigation costs will again fall on the public. In other words, you are harming the public again with a public decision. Therefore, we demand that this be reversed as soon as possible.”

News Source: 12punto