Global Value Chain Dynamics, Precarious Labor, and Decent Work Violations: The Case of Syrian Refugee Workers in Turkey's Informal Textile Subcontracting Industry (2010–2020).

Between 2011 and 2020, Turkey became host to the world’s largest Syrian refugee population, a demographic transformation that reshaped both migration governance and the lower tiers of labor-intensive manufacturing. This thesis examines how the governance structure of Global Value Chains (GVCs), together with Turkey’s temporary protection regime and migration governance framework, facilitated the incorporation of Syrian refugee labor into the informal subcontracting networks of the textile and apparel sector and analyzes the Decent Work deficits that resulted. Drawing on Global Value Chain analysis, Global Production Network theory, labor process theory, and the ILO’s Decent Work framework, the study situates refugee labor incorporation within the political economy of buyer-driven production systems. Methodologically, it employs a qualitative design based on key informant interviews with ten participants representing six institutional groups: trade unions, international organizations, political actors, sector representatives, labor rights advocates, and a textile worker. Fieldwork was conducted between May and June 2026. The findings demonstrate that Syrian refugee labor did not generate new forms of labor informality but became incorporated into pre-existing structures of unregistered employment, multi-tier subcontracting, and labor precarity. The employer-centred work permit system, selective enforcement of labor regulations, and the cost-reduction logic of buyer-driven production networks together created conditions in which informal refugee employment became structurally advantageous to employers. Within this framework, Syrian workers experienced multiple Decent Work deficits, including wage suppression, excessive working hours, occupational health risks, lack of social protection, restricted freedom of association, and heightened labor control. These vulnerabilities were further shaped by gender, age, and ethnicity. The study argues that refugee labor incorporation emerged from the interaction between migration governance and GVC dynamics, demonstrating that labor precarity was structurally produced rather than an unintended consequence. The findings contribute to debates on migration policy, labor governance, and supply chain regulation.