Public sector employees in Türkiye may soon benefit from a regulation granting the right to work part-time as the government seeks to support work-life balance for families and address declining birth rates.
The long-anticipated measure, initially introduced in 2016 but left unimplemented for eight years, is part of the government's initiative to declare 2025 the "Year of the Family" that features incentives to boost fertility rates.
The draft regulation, now under review, aims to ease the burden on working parents by allowing them to spend more time with their children during their formative years.
Under the proposed guidelines, mothers or fathers will be eligible for part-time work arrangements until their child starts primary school, according to a report by the private broadcaster NTV on Tuesday.
This provision was originally added to the Public Servants Law in 2016 but was never implemented.
The new benefit, which is set to apply to both biological and adoptive parents, is said to allow only one parent at a time to take advantage of the arrangement.
Parents who choose part-time work will see their weekly hours reduced from the standard 40 to 20 hours. They may either work full days for up to three days a week or at least three hours per day across five days.
However, salaries will also be halved, with the lowest-paid civil servants earning just over TL 21,860 ($596.56) part-time compared to the standard of more than TL 43,720 for full-time work. Despite the reduced pay, this option may be more cost-effective for families than hiring private child care.
The draft regulations also specify that employees must submit a written request at least one month in advance to their institution. Part-time working mothers will not be entitled to additional nursing breaks.
Final adjustments to the policy will be made by the Family and Social Services Ministry after public consultation.
Türkiye's total population stood at 85.6 million in 2023, with 10.6% classified as elderly, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).
Despite the growing population, the country's total fertility rate has declined over the last decade to 1.51 live births per woman in 2023, below the replacement level of 2.1.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has described it as an "existential threat" and a "disaster" for the country. Erdoğan has long called on families to have at least three children.
"The current situation is no longer tolerable for our country," the president said last year. "We need to realize that population is our greatest strength as a nation and we will be more determined on this issue."
While the decrease in Türkiye's working-age population and declining birth rates are less severe compared to many developed nations, they still pose challenges to Erdoğan's goal of fostering economic growth through a youthful workforce.
Increasing the birth rate in Türkiye could boost the population and enhance the labor force's role in contributing to long-term potential gross domestic product (GDP) growth.
To address that, the government has, among others, increased maternity and child allowances. It has also provided newlyweds with a family fund featuring interest-free loans of up to TL 150,000, with a two-year grace period before repayment begins.
The initiative was initially introduced to support victims of the devastating February 2023 earthquakes.
Declining birth rates pose a significant challenge for other major countries like Japan, Italy, China and France, as they struggle to address the growing imbalance between an aging population and a shrinking workforce.
