Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention. In its previous comments, the Committee had raised the need to amend several provisions which prevented the free exercise of the rights under Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention and in particular:

–      Section 2 of Act No. 2821 and section 18 of Act No. 3308 which lead to the exclusion from the right to organize (either explicitly or in practice) homeworkers, contract personnel and apprentices. The Committee notes that according to the Government, Act No. 2821 does not contain such exceptions and defines workers as those working under a contract of employment (article 2), recognizes the right to organize of the workers (article 20) and exempts only military personnel from the right to form and join trade unions (article 21). Apprentices are considered as students in a special law. With regard to homeworkers, the Committee recalls from its previous comments, going as far back as 2001, that based on comments by various workers’ organizations, the definition of workers in Act No. 2821 excludes homeworkers in practice. The Committee considers more generally, that the criterion for determining the persons covered by the right to organize should not be based on the existence of an employment relationship, which is often non-existent, for example in the case of self-employed workers and vulnerable groups of workers like homeworkers. The Committee also recalls that section 18 of Act No. 3308 prohibits apprentices from joining organizations. The Committee requests once again the Government to indicate in its next report the measures taken or envisaged so as to ensure that the self-employed workers, homeworkers and apprentices enjoy the right to organize, in accordance with Article 2 and to provide statistical data in this regard. The Committee hopes that this issue will be addressed in the Bill to amend Acts Nos 2821 and 2822 currently before Parliament and requests the Government to indicate the provisions adopted in its next report.

–      Section 5 of Act No. 2821 which provides that a worker must be a Turkish citizen in order to be a founding member of a union; section 22(3) and section 25(2)(c) of Act No. 2821, according to which a number of formalities, and in particular the intervention of a public notary, are required to become a member of a trade union or to resign from it. The Committee hopes that these issues will be fully addressed in the draft Bill to amend Acts Nos. 2821 and 2822 currently before Parliament and requests the Government to indicate the provisions adopted in its next report.

–      Section 3 (d) of Act No. 2821 and section 4 of Act No. 4688 which impose restrictions on the level of trade union representation. The Committee notes that according to the Government, the social partners in Turkey are in general agreement on the basic parameters of the industrial relations system such as branch-level organizations and enterprise and workplace-level collective bargaining, which has been in place for two and a half decades. After the proposed amendments to the legislation, it will continue functioning smoothly and in line with ILO standards. Recalling that the right to join the organization of one’s own choosing includes the free determination of the level of representation, the Committee requests once again the Government to indicate measures taken or contemplated to repeal the prohibition concerning the establishment of trade unions on an occupational or workplace basis in section 3 of Act No. 2821 and section 4 of Act No. 4688.

–      Sections 33 and 34 of Act No. 2822 which establish the power of the Council of Ministers to suspend for 60 days a lawful strike for public health and national security reasons and then to refer the matter to compulsory arbitration, if the parties have not been able to reach a settlement upon the expiry of the suspension period (appeals can be lodged with the Council of State). The Committee had noted that according to the Government, the draft bill amending Act No. 2822 modifies section 33 in order to provide for the advisory opinion of the High Board of Arbitration (a tripartite body), rather than the Council of State, before the suspension is decided by the Council of Ministers. The Committee once again notes that the responsibility for suspending a strike under section 33 should lie with an independent body which has the confidence of all the parties concerned. In these circumstances the Committee requests the Government to indicate measures taken or contemplated to amend section 33 of Act No. 2822 accordingly.

Article 5. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the practical application of section 3(g) of Act No. 4688, according to which a confederation must be constituted of at least five unions from different sectors and to amend it in case it restricts the right of public employees’ unions to join confederations of their own choosing, including those which also group together organizations from the private sector. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that private and public sector confederations of trade unions often come together under umbrella entities as the one called “labour platform”. The Committee takes note of this information.