The Truth About "1 Day Off in 10 Days": Tourism Workers Explain

With the new legal regulation, which radically changes working conditions in the tourism sector, workers at hotels with tourism operation licenses will now be able to take one day off after 10 days of work. This regulation goes beyond the general provision of the Labor Law that allows for six days of work and a seventh day of rest. Following the announcement of the law, Ayça Örer from Aposto spoke with tourism workers to document the situation on the ground.

Industry workers agree that the law will further exacerbate already harsh working conditions. Serdar, with eight years of experience, says, “This decision fulfills the bosses' desire to transition to a slave system. I also work in the kitchen and help clean rooms at the same hotel. Everyone does everything, and they do it until they're exhausted.”

Aysun, a department manager at a hotel in Bodrum, reminds us that the foundation of service is a smile: “You were scolded for 10 days straight, working from 6 a.m. to midnight. How can you show a smile under these circumstances? I'm sending out invitations to people to work here for two days.”

Osman, who works as a chef in the kitchen, explains how hygiene is compromised by long shifts: “It’s impossible for someone working 13-14 hours a day to see the meat on the counter or the hygiene in the kitchen. The issue is getting the plate out. Because if that plate doesn’t come out, the work doesn’t end.”

Erdem, a 24-year-old seasonal worker in Antalya, highlights the challenges of working outside the system: “I’ve been at this hotel since April and haven’t received a single penny. Occasionally, I get paid 5,000-10,000 lira, like pocket money. A vacation every 10 days? Even that is a luxury.”

Murat, who runs his own boutique hotel, summarizes the industry's inner workings: "You might think hotel workers swim in the sea and eat delicious food. In reality, you don't actually eat that food, and you don't even see the sea. What used to be a lucrative job has now become a porterage."

CHP Deputy Chair Gülşah Deniz Atalar argued that the announced targets for tourism were "unrealistic," while DİSK Chair Arzu Çerkezoğlu stated that this regulation violated the Constitution and international agreements to which Turkey is a party: "This violation of rights affects not only tourism workers, but all workers. Similar demands have begun to come from sectors like construction."

An employee named Dilara is cautious about the new regulations: “The bosses are completely tense. It doesn't matter if you're rich or poor anymore; we're happy to see a British tourist. But the fault isn't with the bosses; it's with the state, which presents us so vulnerable to customers.”

According to the Turkish Statistical Institute, more than 60,000 people were employed in the tourism sector in the first half of 2024. While the Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced its 2025 target of $64 billion, the outlook for workers is bleak.