Gaziantep Chambers of Tradesmen and Craftsmen Union (GESOB) President İsmet Özcan noted that tradesmen were crushed under increasing rents, costs, bills and Bağkur premium debts. Stating that the tradesmen are struggling to survive due to decreasing competitiveness, Özcan said, "The tradesmen urgently need a lifeline loan."

Gaziantep Chambers of Tradesmen and Craftsmen Union (GESOB) President İsmet Özcan explained the difficult situation of the tradesmen. Özcan said that there are 41 thousand 600 registered tradesmen in Gaziantep and 100 thousand unregistered tradesmen, and pointed out that the problems are increasing day by day.

HIGH RENTS DESTROYED TRADESMEN
Stating that one of the biggest problems of tradesmen in the city is high rents, Özcan said, “Rents are very expensive in Gaziantep. Today, the rent for an 80-100 square meter shop on a good street starts from 20 thousand liras and goes up to 50 thousand liras. Rents are also high in other regions. We have debts that we postponed due to the problems caused by the pandemic. We have debts from friends and family that we cannot pay. "We urgently need a lifeline loan," he said.

WE CANNOT REACH CREDIT!
Stating that tradesmen cannot use loans from Tradesmen Guarantee Cooperatives and banks due to their damaged records, Özcan said, “Tradesmen Guarantee Cooperatives provide appropriate loans to tradesmen, but the limits are not sufficient. They are currently giving loans of 200-300 thousand TL. The limits are 1 million lira, they do not give that figure. We cannot access this loan due to our debt from the past. We also have a registry problem. Our chances of getting loans from private banks are zero anyway. Our record was damaged during the pandemic. We cannot use credit for this. "What we want from the state is a real record amnesty."

BAĞKUR PREMIUM DEBT IS DIFFICULTY FOR TRADESMEN
Stating that one of the important problems of the tradesmen is Bağ-Kur premium debts, Özcan said, "Restructuring is being done regarding the premium debts, but it is very difficult for us to pay both the premiums and the debt. The solution to this is that we create our own employment. The state provides support to businesses that employ people. It is necessary to provide at least a 50 percent discount to tradesmen during the restructuring process. In this way, we pay both our premiums and our debt. This has to be done. In this way, the state collects its money abroad. In this situation, even if he accumulates a debt of 10 million lira, he will not be able to receive that money. Because tradesmen cannot pay. There should be a discount on our BAĞ-KUR premiums. Currently, we cannot benefit from health services other than emergency services. We can't go to a private hospital anyway. An SSK member working for a tradesman can go to any hospital, but the employer cannot. "When we accumulate debt to BAĞ-KUR for two months, we cannot benefit from health services," he said.

WE LOST OUR COMPETITIVE POWER
Stating that tradesmen who are going through difficult times cannot compete with chain markets, Özcan suggested that these markets should be closed at least at 19:00 in the evening. Touching on the unregistered issue, Özcan said, “There are unregistered Syrians. Men have opened unregistered businesses and employ unregistered employees. We cannot compete with them. We do not want any privilege in this regard, but it should not be given to Syrians either. They should also pay taxes like us. Let him employ an SSK person. When I opened my shop, my daily expenses were 5 thousand liras, and when that man opened it, it was a thousand liras. They should be registered with the state regarding Syrians. The issue here is not Syrians. He concluded his words by saying, "The same is true for Iranians, Iraqis and British."