Abstract

The article presents an alternative conceptual framework for the analyses of wage-labor relations in Turkey’s agriculture to mainstream accounts focusing on the dichotomy of worker-intermediary/labor contractor. The aim is to highlight the role of employers and the legal exemptions behind the insecure labor market instead of much focused intermediaries/labor contractors as the cause of unfairness workers face. Agricultural exceptionalism refers to the rationales and implications of dual labor legislation, which exempts agricultural employers from responsibility. The striking point is the apparent parallelism between the rationales of legal exceptionalism and mainstream accounts emphasizing peculiarity, exceptionality, and uniqueness of agricultural work/ers through the practices of intermediaries in the agricultural labor market. Within this context of exceptionalism, preference of inclusive concepts –agricultural work and agricultural workers– will be a useful conceptual shift to encourage comparison with other sectors and challenge legal exemptions as an alternative to current widespread labels such as “seasonal laborers, temporary workers, migrant workers” that initially assert a-typicality of work/ers, which reflect the rationale of legal exemptions.