'Spotlights on set workers': Working conditions in the Turkish film and TV industry

Erol A., Usta Okour E. K.

Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences, sa.70, ss.103-120, 2026 (TRDizin)

Özet

This article examines the working conditions of set workers in Türkiye’s film and television industry through the lenses of labour law and media policy. In creative industries, flexible employment has transformed precarity into a structural fixture, driven by a legal framework that fails to regulate sector-specific dynamics. Based on a large-scale survey of 1,181 participants, the study reveals how precarity has become institutionalized. Key findings highlight that most workers operate without written contracts, engage in short-term project-based tasks, face delayed payments, and endure excessive hours. Consequently, these workers are often excluded from the legal definition of ‘employee’ under Turkish Labour Law, stripping them of essential social protections. The study proposes adopting the ‘dependent contractor’ status as an intermediate legal category to address these gaps. Ultimately, the article argues that solving these issues requires more than just legal reform; it necessitates a fundamental structural transformation in the political economy and organization of creative labour.