Tradesmen Do Not Want to Wait Until the End of the Holiday

Tradesmen do not want to wait until the end of the holiday. Sector representatives demand opening two days before the festival.

Bendevi Palandöken, President of the Confederation of Turkish Tradesmen and Craftsmen (TESK), demanded that the workplaces of tradesmen and craftsmen, who have faced the difficulties of the coronavirus epidemic for more than a year, should be opened two days before Ramadan. Making a written statement, Palandöken said that the tradesmen and craftsmen entered the festival in a bitter mood due to the lockdown. Emphasizing that the pre-Ramadan Feast, which is one of the most fertile days for tradesmen, was inactive this year due to complete lockdown, Palandöken said, “The expected turnover could not be realized due to the complete lockdown that started just before the feast.” Palandöken pointed out that the tradesmen who could not heal the wounds of the last year were also getting new injuries this holiday because they could not do business, and continued as follows: “Tradesmen and craftsmen, who have faced the difficulties brought by Covid-19 for more than a year, should open up the last two days before the holiday. Our citizens are forced to shop on the internet and face exorbitant prices. However, if the confectioners, shoemakers, bag sellers and hairdressers operating in the neighborhoods are provided with the opportunity to open for two days before the holiday, our shopkeepers and those who are shopping for the holidays will be happy. Thanks to this gesture to our small shopkeepers who do not have the power to compete with internet companies, sales will be made before the holidays. Our tradesmen can give pocket money to their children, at least during the holidays.”