Minister Işıkhan Meets with Mining Sector Representatives

Minister of Labor and Social Security Prof. Dr. Vedat Işıkhan met with representatives of the Mining Sector within the scope of the Sector Meetings Program organized by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.

Minister Işıkhan stated that with these meetings, they aimed to develop a common mind to solve the structural problems of the labor markets in the sector from the past and to increase employment by evaluating the difficulties and opportunities that may be encountered in the future.

Işıkhan stated that he wanted to talk about two important policy documents that set forth the macro targets of the mining sector and said, “The first is the 12th Development Plan, and the other is the Medium-Term Program. One of the basic targets set forth within the scope of the 12th Development Plan regarding the mining sector is to increase the ratio of the sector’s added value to gross domestic product to 2028 percent by 2. Another basic target is to increase the value of mining exports, which was approximately 2023 billion dollars in 5,7, by approximately 2028-fold to 10 billion dollars by 12. Our XNUMXth Development Plan also sets very important targets for natural gas and crude oil production. These targets aim to both increase the sector’s contribution to the national economy and strengthen its impact in international competition.”

Minister Işıkhan said that the Medium Term Program emphasized reducing Turkey’s import dependency and improving the foreign trade balance and current account deficit, and that reference was made to the definition of mineral exploration activities as public benefit activities in the legislation, and continued as follows:

“In both policy texts, it is emphasized that the exploration and operation of minerals are discussed in detail according to their types, qualities and sustainability principles and that a new basic regulation that will increase investment security is needed. In addition to the need to make legislative arrangements in the mining sector, the following issues come to the fore; turning to domestic resources in order to reduce external dependency and current deficit, increasing awareness of compliance with environmental and occupational safety legislation, identifying strategic and critical raw materials and, more importantly, their management. Policy recommendations and strategies such as strengthening the technical and financial infrastructures of companies in the sector, producing and exporting more value-added products in the sector, accelerating exploration activities in cooperation with other countries, and reducing financial risks in order to increase exploration activities of the private sector come to the fore.”

“Türkiye Century Vision Also Shapes the Future of the Mining Sector”

Işıkhan emphasized that the vision of the Turkish Century drawn by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also directs the future of the mining sector and guides the achievement of sustainable development goals, and said, “Our country is an important actor in the global mining sector with its rich natural resources and strategic location, and it also plays an important role in economic growth and regional development thanks to the geographical distribution of mineral deposits. Within the framework of the national energy and mining policy set forth in line with the goal of ensuring energy and mineral supply security, reducing external dependency on energy raw materials, closely following scientific developments in the field of mining and earth sciences, and managing and planning our natural resources, especially strategic and critical raw materials, are among the priority issues.”

“Steps Taken to Increase Registered Employment in the Sector Have Yielded Successful Results”

Underlining that the sector stands out with its employment dimension, Minister Işıkhan noted the following: “According to our SGK data, the share of insured employees in the mining and quarrying sector among the total compulsory insured was 2022 percent in 0,94, while this rate was recorded as 2024 percent in 0,88. On the other hand, I would like to share that the sector's unregistered employment rate has been on a continuous decline since 2014 and has reached a minimum level as of 2023. This trend shows us that the steps taken to increase registered employment in the sector have yielded successful results.”

National Employment Strategy Document

Işıkhan, mentioning that another important issue in terms of employment is the full compliance of the mining sector with environmental and occupational safety legislation within the framework of sustainable development principles, said, “In this direction, we need to further strengthen the institutional infrastructure specific to mining in order to increase environmental and occupational safety awareness, expand training and certification activities, and effectively manage occupational health and safety. Our National Employment Strategy Document, which supports these efforts and will hopefully be shared with the public in the near future, will be an important guide for ensuring sustainable employment. While our strategy aims to comply with green and digital transformation processes, it also aims to produce solutions to structural problems in labor markets and further increase employment.”

Minister Işıkhan stated that he believes that the targets determined in this document within the framework of the National Employment Strategy will make valuable contributions to the mining sector continuing its activities with an environmentally sensitive, safe and sustainable production practice. He said, “In line with the vision of a prosperous Turkey that has achieved sustainable development with full employment in a safe work environment that has completed its green and digital transformation, we continue our work as a Ministry with great determination so that those employed in the mining sector can work in decent working conditions in order to achieve the targets we have determined.”

Işıkhan expressed his hope that the workshop, which will be the fruit of the studies that will make great contributions to the preparation of the sector for the future through the change and transformation it has experienced, will produce useful results at the Mining Sector Meeting.

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