The ruling party and the opposition proposed a joint motion on the 16th article, which defines authorities of the cabinet council. As required by the country's interests, the cabinet council has the authority to grant permission to foreigners to work in positions normally restricted to Turkish citizens. According to the accepted motion, this authority of the cabinet council was abolished.
According to another accepted motion, foreign professionals who receive a work permit from the Ministry of Labor and Social Security can become temporary members of trade associations.
According to the joint motion made in the article regarding the structure of the Foreign Employment Policy Advisory Board, the board will consist of Türk-İş, TİSK, Hak-İş, DİSK and other professional organizations serving as public institutions besides related ministry bureaucrats.
Also, an article that defines the working conditions of foreign engineers and architects was narrowed down. According to the article, foreign engineers and architects can perform their work temporarily or on a project basis by applying for a work permit.
Some changes were also made in the punitive articles of the draft law. According to the changes, foreign employees and their employers will pay TL 400 ($154.50) if they do not fulfill their obligations to notify the authorities. A foreign employee who is working for an employer without having a working permit will pay TL 2,400, and a foreign employee working independently will pay TL 4,800. Likewise, an employer who gives jobs to foreign employees will pay TL 6,000 per foreign employee.
With the new changes, work permit applications of foreign workers who are not qualified to perform the work according to regulations of their home countries will be rejected.
A change was made to the law related to employing covenanted health workers for employers having trouble finding employees. With the motion, foreigners can only be employed if there is no application by Turkish citizens for the vacant positions.
Foreigners will be given a maximum of a one-year work permit on their first application. Then, if they continue to work for the same organization, they can receive a two-year work permit on their second application and a three-year work permit on their subsequent application.
Work permits for foreigners will be granted by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security. Foreigners who do not have work permits will be forbidden to work or be employed in Turkey. However, foreigners who are included in bilateral or multilateral agreements and international conventions, which state that they can work without work permits, can work or be employed without a work permit.
