Today is 1 May... Workers are living in difficult conditions because of the economic crisis caused by the investments made by the Turkish state in war. Workers have difficulty bringing bread to their homes.

Workers in the construction sector with daily wages are having difficulty paying the rent of their houses. The contradiction is that they are building luxury apartments while experiencing very heavy working conditions.

Our salary doesn’t buy anything

One of the workers, Kemal Deveci, stated that they work every day, but they cannot sleep without thinking about the next day. “We can't help but think about how to get oil and sugar for our house. For example, a year ago we could buy many things with our daily wages, but now we can't buy anything anymore. We are constantly forced to borrow money. In the last 3-4 months, it has been really difficult to make a living. I have four children, all of them are studying. I don't want them to end up in construction like us."

We don’t have work every day

Remzi Yıldız, who pointed out that the working conditions were not good, said: “I have been working in construction for 32 years. However, I haven't completed my insurance days yet. I am sending my three children to school and I am having a hard time economically. Because prices rise every day, there is no salary rise in return for our labor. While the rich keep getting richer, the poor are getting poorer. We no longer have peace at home. We argue all the time with our children. They do not understand and do not accept poverty. While we used to be able to buy a tin of oil, flour and sugar with our daily wages, now we can't buy anything. I cannot meet the needs of my household with my daily wage. Moreover, we can only work if there is something. We don’t work a full month.”

We can’t support our families

Vedat Fiktan said he has been working in construction for 15 years. "I have always rented a house. I've been working for years, but I don't have any savings. I have 5 children, and I can't afford to send them to school, because our daily wages are not even enough to support our house. After paying the rent and bills, we live on the border of hunger.”

Three people working and it is still not enough

Saying that he has been working in construction for years and that the working conditions are not good at all, Alişer Akgün shared the following: “We only save the day with the daily wages we receive, we have no chance to save money. Although we have three people working at home, we cannot make a living. In the past, one person could support a family, but now three people can’t do it.”

We have no hope for the future

Noting that he has been working in this sector for 15 years, always in a precarious situation, Servet Çelebi said: “I have been working for so many years, but I have zero savings. I have 6 children and they all go to school. We get 200 liras per day, but that money is not a solution to any of our problems. This crisis also affects our relationships at home. A tin of oil is almost a thousand liras. In winter, if we are lucky, we work 2 weeks a month. This makes 3-4 thousand liras per month. We are in very bad condition. So I have no hope for the future.”