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The Committee notes the observation made by the Turkish Municipal and General Workers' Union (BELEDIYE-IS, Diyarbakir Department) concerning the application of the Convention in their region, especially in towns which Kurds live in great numbers, where workers of municipalities have not received regular payments for a period of up to three to four years.

The Committee notes the comments of the Government on this issue received during its session. The Government underlines that in the above observation, neither any concrete example of alleged violation is given nor any specific municipality, workplace or trade union member whose rights are violated is referred to, making it impossible for the Government to comment on the matter. It adds that for the same reason, it is impracticable for the competent authorities to initiate an inspection to verify the issue and to react accordingly. According to the Government, the competent authorities nevertheless requested, upon the receipt of the above observation through the ILO, Diyarbakir branch office, to supply particulars in order to make a thorough examination of the case. The Government stresses that, while six inspections were carried out in southern and eastern regions since 1 January 1997 upon complaints of BELEDIYE-IS, none of them was from the Diyarbakir branch. The Government considers that the national legislation concerning the wages and the frequency of its payment is in conformity with the Convention, and that the labour inspectorate acts promptly on any complaints of violations of labour laws.

Regarding the application of Article 12 of the Convention, the Committee noted in the previous observation, in relation to the observation made by the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (TURK-IS), the importance, for the effective application of the Convention, of the supervision of the compliance in practice with the national provisions giving effect to it, including appropriate provision and imposition of penalties for infringements. It again requests the Government to supply, in accordance with Article 16 of the Convention and point V of the report form, information on the application of the Convention in practice, with particular reference to the municipalities, the agricultural sector and the small commercial and artisanal enterprises. The Committee asks the Government to provide, in particular, information on the numbers of inspections made, infringements of the relevant provisions observed and penalties imposed.

[The Government is asked to report in detail in 1998.]