İsmet Özcan, President of Gaziantep Chambers of Tradesmen and Craftsmen, stated that the rise in dollar, gold, fuel, electricity and natural gas prices negatively affected the tradesmen and called for support to the tradesmen.
Stating that the tradesmen went through a very difficult process with the price increases that started before the natural disaster we experienced and were made after the earthquake, Özcan said, "It is necessary to prevent the price increases as soon as possible and to take steps to relieve our tradesmen by accelerating the work to eliminate the grievances of our tradesmen affected by the earthquake."
“Tradesmen are the driving force of a country and a city”
Özcan, who demanded that the price increases should be intervened, said: “If there are no tradesmen, there will be no big businessmen, no big enterprises. Tradesmen are the driving force of a country and a city. Tradesmen are indispensable for a country. So, if a wheel is spinning, think about its teeth, one of the smallest teeth at the bottom of that wheel is the tradesman. If that gear is not present, the wheel above will not rotate. They will definitely remain locked together. That's why small tradesmen need to be supported. The state must take the necessary steps. "We can't even pay some bills. Our electricity bill and natural gas bill are very high. I want a solution to be found as soon as possible." said.
“SCT may not be collected from commercial vehicles”
Stating that high rental prices affect everyone, Özcan said, “Certain tradesmen are very distressed. Rents are too high. The rent in Gaziantep and the rent in Adana in Mersin are not the same. There is a half price difference. Property owners need to help us. Fuel price hikes have put the transportation sector in complete trouble. Bus drivers are happy that schools are closed, taxi drivers are waiting to avoid work, and public buses are looking for excuses not to go on the trip. The transporter is the same. "SCT may not be collected from commercial vehicles." he said.
Complaining that fuel prices are not stable, Özcan said, “An improvement needs to be made. When we go to our tradesmen, the biggest problem we talk about is fuel. 'Let it be 40 or 30 TL, but keep it constant. They say, "Let's take care of our business accordingly and take precautions accordingly." The reason for these problems stems from input costs, rent and transportation. When a solution is found for this fuel, a solution to all of these will be found. "We can at least see an improvement, if there is a discount on fuel and if SCT is not collected, we can bring the prices to a visible level." he said.
“Our brothers and sisters working for minimum wage should not be victimized”
Stating that if the state does not provide support, the tradesmen will lay off workers, Özcan said, “Anyway, the biggest expense of the tradesmen is the workers who work for them on minimum wage. There really needs to be a raise right now. In other words, our worker brothers should not be victimized either. But the state should support us for at least 5-6 months and not collect taxes. We cannot afford it when the minimum wage, which is 4 thousand 250 TL tomorrow, becomes 5 thousand 500 TL or 6 thousand TL. It should be tax deductible somehow. The tradesman works with his own body, perhaps employing two workers alongside him. “He will have to lay off both of these workers, otherwise he cannot afford it.” said.
Özcan reiterated his call to support tradesmen and said, “One of our biggest problems is BAĞ-KUR. We cannot pay our BAĞ-KURs. Amnesty was granted, restructuring was made, interest was deleted, but we have no chance of paying. A discount should be made on the minimum wage and small tradesmen should be relieved. In the past, there were tradesmen degrees. Such a system as 1,2 and 3 should be switched to. In other words, today, both those with a monthly turnover of 100 thousand TL and 500 thousand TL and those with a turnover of around 10 thousand TL pay the same BAĞ-KUR. We have accumulated debts to BAĞ-KUR and we cannot benefit from health care. We need to solve these as soon as possible. "We are in great trouble, we need support." he said.