The number of victims whose active work is not considered the start of retirement is 1,5 million, since only their health insurance is paid, although they work during the compulsory internship process while studying at vocational high schools. Vedat Bilgin, Minister of Labor and Social Security, pointed out that the Retirement Age Victims (EYT) studies are near to the end, and that the work on the victims of internship insurance has begun. Ferhat Salman, President of the Internship Insurance Victims Association, emphasized that the insurance premiums paid in the past internships should be considered as the beginning in order to end the victimization. Ferhat Salman, President of the Internship Insurance Victims Association, pointed out that there are approximately 1,5 million citizens since the insurances deposited on behalf of the students are not seen as premiums but only as health insurance in the compulsory internship applications applied for students studying at vocational high schools. Underlining that the work done is applied in full time, he asked why the insurances were half. He called for the arrangement to be made on existing law as soon as possible.
“INSURANCES MADE ARE ONLY WITHIN THE SCOPE OF HEALTH INSURANCE”
Emphasizing that the current law is old, Salman stated that the law should be updated in accordance with the present, and said, “While working actively in the business field during the compulsory internship periods applied in apprenticeship schools, vocational high schools and universities, the insurances made are only within the scope of health insurance. This situation not only encourages child labour, but also creates a shortage of apprentices in the industry. Think about it, there are sectors that do not have apprentices and the profession is not transferred.”
“VICTIMIZATION CAN BE SOLVED WITHOUT ADDITIONAL RESOURCES”
Calling for the problem to be resolved as soon as possible, Salman said, “Let's borrow our internship days, count our internship as the beginning of Social Security Institution (SGK), saying that our grievances should be resolved without harming our economy, and that it will create extra resources. We are demanding that the beginning of our internship or apprenticeship accepted as SGK start dates, we demand that the right to borrow be given between the start of the internship and the date we start work, and that the current victims and those whose conditions are suitable are included in the scope of EYT as soon as possible. There are currently over 1,5 million victims. We can create a very good resource, we can solve the grievance together without the need for any additional resources.”