Palandöken: “All sectors are in the hands of capital”

Reminding that the most important aspect of fighting inflation is the artisans and tradesmen, who can no longer withstand unfair competition, TESK (Turkish Confederation of Tradesmen and Craftsmen) General President Bendevi Palandöken said, “Unfair competition in the country has reached a very serious level. All sectors are in the hands of capital. Unfortunately, the retail law has not yet been passed. Without it, local tradesmen, who would regulate prices alongside unfair competition, have almost disappeared. There hasn’t been a significant increase in the number of tradesmen compared to the growing population. There are no butchers or greengrocers left on the streets. A system that will allow mutual price reductions is needed. Firstly, chains should have a day off once a week, and their opening and closing hours should be set. For this, a retail law is essential. The absence of this law leads to the imposition of the same prices in Hakkari, Istanbul, Ankara, or Bursa. However, our tradesmen and artisans are the most important part of the fight against inflation. As stated in Article 173 of the Constitution, tradesmen and artisans should be protected. Once the Parliament is back from vacation, the retail law should be the first item to be discussed,” he said.

“They turned tradesmen into salespeople, and farmers into workers”

Stating that due to unfair competition, tradesmen have become salespeople and farmers have become workers, Bendevi Palandöken, the General President of TESK, said, “In Turkey, there is a kind of unfair competition that is inconsistent with the examples taken from developed countries. All sectors are in the hands of capital. As if it were not enough that they sell products in all sectors, they can determine the prices of products all over the country with a single click. They have destroyed the tradesmen and turned them into salespeople. They have also turned farmers into their workers. They provide seedlings, make them produce, and then collect the products and send them to their own stores. They also determine the price themselves. While there is an army of unemployed on one side, there is no one on the other side who will engage in business and become an entrepreneur. Everything is now in the hands of capital. They say, ‘I can do it, I can import it.’ As long as there are no individual businesses left, no one should expect the price of meat to drop,” he stated.

“Unfair competition must be prevented”

Expressing that there is a problem of not being able to lower prices in a country where everything is abundant, Palandöken said, “Our small tradesmen are an indispensable part of the fight against inflation. In a country where everything is abundant, there is a problem of not being able to lower prices. The solution to the problem is clear. The Retail Law must be urgently updated according to the needs of the tradesmen. For the measures taken by our state to fight inflation to be effective, it is essential to protect tradesmen and artisans first. Small businesses must survive so that citizens can compare prices and realize the actual discounts.”