TESK President: 'Chain stores' cigarette and bread sales should be restricted'

The Central Workplace Inspection and Consultancy Group and the Vocational Training Development Board Meeting were held at the TESK Conference Hall with the participation of Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat.

Speaking at the opening of the meeting, which was also attended by Union Presidents and Chamber Presidents, Confederation of Turkish Tradesmen and Craftsmen (TESK) President Bendevi Palandöken said, "Our tradesmen and craftsmen are the key to fighting inflation. Every investor who cannot run their own business has flocked to the food sector.

It has become such a rent-seeking environment that it is no longer possible to control prices. This is what happens when one person has 10 thousand businesses. Unfair competition in the country has reached a very serious level. They turned tradesmen into shop assistants and farmers into laborers in the fields. Consumers are now fed up with inflation. At the very least, these businesses should be prevented from selling cigarettes and bread," he said.

"APPRENTICES, BLACKSMITHS, CARPENTERS, MASTERS, AND CONCRETE WORKERS CANNOT BE FOUND IN INDUSTRY"

Stating that tradesmen and craftsmen remain weak against large capital and that unfair competition must be prevented as soon as possible, Palandöken said, "Save both the tradesmen and the citizens from this ordeal. Apprentices, carpenters, blacksmiths, masters, and concrete workers cannot be found in the industry. The new generation cannot protect the craft inherited from their fathers. Because a market opens next to a tradesman who has worked for 50 years and ends everything. There are no butchers or greengrocers left in the country.

All prices are under the monopoly of large capital. They have become wholesalers, distributors, importers, and manufacturers. Tradesmen and the public are in great distress. The profit margin that tradesmen earn from tobacco products has fallen from 12 percent to 4 percent. The sale of cigarettes and bread by chain stores must definitely be restricted," he said.

"RETAIL LAW MUST BE UPDATED"

Pointing out that the importance of small businesses is increasing all over the world, Palandöken said, "While the whole world is trying to keep small businesses alive, unfortunately, we have a mentality of 'beat the small when you grow big.' However, our small tradesmen are an indispensable pillar of the fight against inflation.

There is the distress of not being able to lower prices in a country where everything is abundant. The solution to the problem is clear. The Retail Law must be urgently updated in line with the needs of tradesmen. Opening and closing hours must be regulated. They must be prevented from selling all kinds of products, and they must be closed at least one day a week," he stated.

News Source: İHA