Syrian refugees in Turkey, 2019

Drawing on theories on informal work, the central aim of this research was to explore the factors driving Syrian refugees into the informal economy in Turkey. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews with 39 Syrian refugees (and two representatives of NGOs providing assistance to Syrian refugees) who fled from their home country and settled in Istanbul between 2011 and 2019. The key objectives of the research were as follows. The first objective was to examine the main reasons that led Syrian refugees to enter the informal labor market (e.g., the legal obstacles set up by the Turkish government, the reluctance of employers to apply for work permits, the unwillingness of Syrian refugees to work with work permits, and the lack of knowledge on labor regulation). The second objective was to examine how the Turkish authorities maintained a weak monitoring system for detecting labor violations and thus enabled the exploitation of informally employed Syrians. The third objective was to examine the labor conditions for Syrian refugees working in the informal sector in Turkey (e.g., remuneration, access to health care, access to trade unions). The fourth objective was to analyze how the various factors driving Syrians into the informal sector fit into theories on informal work.