It added that the total number of working young people between the ages of 12 and 19 was 3.5 million and that 45 percent of them were under the age of 16. However, according to Turk-Is, there are over 600,000 work sites and a mere 450 regular inspectors. A labeling system is scheduled for implementation in 1998. In recent years, it has done so annually. It would be difficult for a single worker, and impossible for a family, to live on the minimum wage without support from other sources.
Most workers earn considerably more.
Workers covered by the labor law, who constitute about one-third of the total labor force, also receive a hot meal or a daily food allowance and other fringe benefits which, according to the Turkish Employers' Association, make basic wages alone account for only about 37 percent of total compensation. The Labor law sets a 45-hour workweek, although most unions have bargained for fewer hours. The law prescribes a weekly rest day and limits the number of overtime hours to 3 a day for up to 90 days in a year. The Labor Inspectorate of the Ministry of Labor effectively enforces wage and hour provisions in the unionized industrial, service, and government sectors, which cover about 12 percent of workers. Occupational health and safety regulations are mandated by law, but the Government has not carried out an effective inspection and enforcement program.