Statement from Şükrü Akyüz, President of the Istanbul Men’s Barbers Tradesmen and Craftsmen Chamber

Istanbul Men’s Barbers and Craftsmen Chamber President Sukru Akyuz, in response to the reactions regarding the decision to close barbers and hairdressers on Sundays, said, “Both as Istanbul and as a federation, we applied for a day off per week. It seems that an impression is being created that the ministry is forcibly closing barbers and hairdressers.”

Istanbul Men’s Barbers and Craftsmen Chamber President Sukru Akyuz made statements to the press regarding those who reacted to the Commerce Ministry’s decision to close barbers and hairdressers on Sundays starting from July 1.

“Sunday holiday was an application requested by 93% of our barber tradesmen.”
In his statements, Akyuz conveyed that their agenda was the impression that barbers and hairdressers were being forcibly closed, saying, “It appears that our ministry is seen as forcibly closing barbers and hairdressers. We felt the need to explain to the public that this was done without considering the tradesmen’s work and livelihood.”

“In this survey, what was desired in each province was implemented.”
Stating that the Sunday holiday was a request from the tradesmen, Akyuz mentioned, “With it being seven days a week, our tradesmen do not have time to spend with their families and children. Due to the lack of time, we applied to our ministry. Both as Istanbul and as a federation, we applied. We applied for a day off per week. We conducted a survey for this. In this survey, what was desired in each province was implemented. 93% of male hairdressers preferred the holiday to be on Sunday. We informed the governorate about this. The governorate had a law that came into effect two years ago, and it was postponed. It was put into effect as of July 1, 2024.”

“They are creating an impression and putting our ministry in a difficult situation.”
President Akyuz stated that there is an effort to create an impression that the ministry is forcibly closing barbers and hairdressers, saying, “It seems that an impression is being created that our ministry is forcibly closing barbers and hairdressers. To express our satisfaction regarding my sector, we made thank-you posts on our social media accounts. They are creating an impression and putting our ministry in a difficult situation. They are conducting interviews with 3-5 people. The people in these interviews are not local barbers or hairdressers. They are chain hairdressers with 3-5 branches, hairdressers with 10-15 salons, saying we pay taxes to the state, we pay this much rent, we do this and that in the market, trying to ignore them. They claimed we suffer losses on Mondays. Additionally, it is necessary to bring up those who do not want it to open. It is also important to mention those who are pleased with the closure. People have families, children, mothers, and fathers. Is one day off a week too much? This law has been enacted for our sector. This decision was considered without making any distinction connected to the chamber or commerce chamber while preserving the exceptions.”

“Currently, the Sunday closure is not a closure but a holiday.”
Istanbul Women Hairdressers Craftsmen Chamber President Bayram Ali Yatkın also stated in his remarks, which he said were neutral, that as presidents, they are neutral. “Currently, the Sunday closure is not a closure but a holiday. It should be evaluated as a holiday, not a closure. This regulation has been in our profession for 30 years. It is not something new. These requests have been conveyed for 30 years, but with the decision made recently, a Sunday holiday was presented to us by the ministry. Subsequently, a system was established by giving special exceptions to the chamber presidents to ensure that our tradesmen are not harmed. Here, none of our tradesmen are harmed, but rather the deficiencies and wrongly operating aspects of our profession have been organized. As you know, although there are many registered hairdressers in Istanbul, there are just as many unregistered hairdressers. Therefore, we need to look at the contribution to ensure that these unregistered hairdressers are somehow registered.