The PLASFED Executive Board Meeting, attended by Mr. Erdal Bahçıvan, President of the Istanbul Chamber of Industry, was held on Thursday, May 14, 2020, under the chairmanship of our President Ömer Karadeniz.
Our President Ömer Karadeniz, who started his speech by first thanking the participants, made a brief assessment and then, after his opening speech to address issues such as **short-time working allowance, force majeure applications for SSI, VAT, and Withholding Tax Payments Postponement** and to hear the thoughts of ISO President Bahçıvan on these matters, handed the floor over to Mr. Erdal Bahçıvan.
Making a brief assessment, Erdal Bahçıvan stated that it was too early to evaluate which sector would be most negatively affected by the Covid-19 process. Bahçıvan, stating that the biggest factor keeping the service sector afloat is “**DEMAND**”, explained the work they have carried out as the Istanbul Chamber of Industry since the beginning of the pandemic. Bahçıvan, who spoke about 3 fundamental issues such as **maintaining cash flow as strong as possible at the beginning of the process, protecting employment without any loss, and providing relief to companies regarding public receivables**, explained that these three issues were reflected in the program as much as possible in the first package of measures taken by the Presidential Cabinet. Emphasizing the success of vocational high schools during the pandemic, Erdal Bahçıvan said, “**I hope that those who support the efforts of our vocational high schools, which have shown their worth immensely in this difficult period, will continue to stand by these schools, and not withhold their support for these schools in terms of both education quality and internships. The solution to the problem of a lack of personnel coming into industry, I hope, will be resolved as our Vocational High Schools emerge from this process having regained their former respected days**”. At the end of his speech, Erdal Bahçıvan answered the questions of the participants and thanked our President Ömer Karadeniz for this pleasant meeting before leaving.
At the Executive Board meeting, our President Ömer Karadeniz, who provided information about **efforts to expand and continue pandemic period support after the pandemic**, exchanged ideas with members about **support mechanisms and the post-pandemic period**. Karadeniz also addressed the issue of **YEKDEM (Renewable Energy Support Mechanism), stating that they had a request for it to be postponed until the end of 2020, and even further if possible.**
At the end of the meeting, our President Ömer Karadeniz thanked each participant individually and said, “**As a sector, we must continue to act in unity and solidarity, and in a healthy manner during this challenging period**”.
This content has been translated using artificial intelligence technology.