Turkey unemployment fund under scrutiny as CHP MP Omer Fethi Gürer highlights aid gap

CHP Niğde MP Ömer Fethi Gürer warned that in the first half of 2026, 892,380 people applied for unemployment benefits but only 413,883 received them. He said the unemployment insurance fund has been turned into a vehicle for employer incentives, stating, “İşsizlik Fon, işsizlerin kara gün güvencesi olmaktan çıkarılmış, işverene kaynak aktaran bir yapıya dönüştürülmüştür.”

Gürer highlighted that roughly 70 % of the fund’s expenditures in 2024‑25 were allocated to employer‑oriented programs, while only about 24‑31 % reached job‑seekers. Officially, Turkey’s broad‑definition unemployment reaches about 13 million people, yet only around 460,000 received benefits by June 2026. Benefit caps are tied to the minimum wage, limiting the maximum payout to 26,223 TL and to 13,111 TL for minimum‑wage workers.

He also outlined the strict eligibility criteria— involuntary loss, application within 30 days, 120 days of continuous work, and at least 600 days of contributions in the past three years— which leave millions excluded. Gürer called for the fund’s resources to be restored to its original social‑security purpose and for greater central‑budget support.