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Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body
Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body- 140. The Committee last examined this case, which concerns the conformity of the Act on Trade Unions and Collective Bargaining Agreements (Act No. 6356) with Convention No. 98, at its October 2014 meeting [see 373rd Report, paras 471–530]. On that occasion it requested the Government to carry out a full review of the impact of Act No. 6356 on the trade union movement and the national collective bargaining machinery as a whole and in the light of the outcome, revise the Act in line with the conclusions of the Committee; it further trusted that no authorization to conclude collective agreements would be withdrawn from any trade union, including the complainant, on the grounds of failure to comply with the double threshold in section 41(1) of Act No. 6356. The Committee finally requested the Government to provide information on the outcome of the appeal filed with the Constitutional Court for annulment of several provisions of Act No. 6356.
- 141. In its communications dated 10 April and 17 June 2015, the Government indicates that Act No. 6552, adopted on 10 September 2014, lowered the representativity threshold from 3 per cent to 1 per cent and removed the transitional thresholds of 1 per cent and 2 per cent. Through an amendment made in Act No. 6645, dated 4 April 2015, to the provisional Article 6 of Act No. 6356, the sectorial threshold was removed with regard to the existing authorized trade unions, so as to ensure that they did not lose their authority and could achieve adaptation during the transitional period. The Government indicates that pursuant to this amendment, the unions which completed their transition period were entitled to conclude a collective agreement regardless of branch threshold; trade unions that fulfilled the 10 per cent threshold according to the statistics published in July 2009 and the unions established before 15 September 2012 could conclude one more collective agreement regardless of branch threshold in workplaces or enterprises where they represented the majority of workers and had already concluded collective agreements; and finally the same trade unions could conclude a collective agreement regardless of the branch threshold requirement in other workplaces and enterprises where they represent the majority of workers within one year of the effective date of the legal amendment. The Government indicates that as a result of these amendments, the branch threshold was not required for Sosyal İş and the union could conclude a collective agreement once more in the workplaces or enterprises where it had been authorized in the past and in addition, it could conclude a collective agreement in any new workplace/enterprise where it represented the majority of workers regardless of the requirement of branch threshold. The Government further indicates that Sosyal İş concluded 24 collective agreements in 2011, covering 3,282 workers; 12 in 2012, covering 376 workers; 33 in 2013, covering 5,304 workers; and 13 in 2014, covering 1,252 workers. The Government concludes that in view of the above there is no obstacle for Sosyal İş to organize and conclude collective agreements. Concentrating on organizational efforts in the future and enabling the membership of more workers within its ranks in the sector where it is organized, the trade union can gain the authority to conclude collective labour agreements.
- 142. With regard to the alleged reduction of the number of trade unions authorized to sign collective labour agreements, the Government indicates that according to the statistics published in 2015, the unionization rate has reached 10.65 per cent (compared to 9.21 per cent in 2013, following the adoption of Act No. 6356. It further indicates that since 7 November 2013, when the e-State registration system for union membership was first introduced, nearly 450,000 workers became union members. The Government states that this figure shows a 50 per cent increase in the number of unionized workers and indicates that the number of trade unions authorized to conclude collective agreements has grown. With regard to Sosyal İş, the Government reiterates that statistics published in 2009 indicated that the union had 43,914 members, which made up 10.05 per cent of overall workers in the sector. Statistics published in January 2013 – after entry in force of Act No. 6356 – indicated that Sosyal İş Trade Union, organized in “Trade, Education, Office and Fine Arts” sector No. 10, had 7,246 members, and its unionization rate stood at 0.34 per cent. The Government further indicates that according to statistics published in January 2015, the total number of Sosyal İş members was 8,100 and the rate of unionization was 0.31 per cent.
- 143. The Government further indicates that the Ministry of Labour is ready to tackle any problem that might arise from the implementation of Act No. 6356 and shall examine any related request communicated by the social partners. It also informs the Committee that in a ruling dated 22 October 2014, the Constitutional Court found several provisions of Act No. 6356 unconstitutional. As a result of this ruling, the distinction between workplaces employing more or less than 30 workers in terms of filing a case for trade union related reasons was removed; the possibility of lockout was limited to the workplaces where a strike decision was taken; and banking and urban transport services were excluded from the strike ban.
- 144. The Committee takes note of the information provided by the Government. While it welcomes the decision of the Constitutional Court, the Committee understands that pursuant to the recently issued Decree with power of law (KHK) No. 678, the Council of Ministers can postpone strikes in local transportation companies and banking institutions for 60 days. The Committee recalls that it has already examined the implications for freedom of association of the power of the Council of Ministers to postpone strikes in certain sectors [see 374th Report, Case No. 3084, paras 855–873 and 378th Report, paras 79–84], and invites the Government to send detailed information on the application of the Decree No. 678 to the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR), to which it refers the legislative aspects of this case.
- 145. The Committee notes that in line with its previous recommendation, the Government has taken provisional measures so that the trade unions which were previously authorized to conclude collective agreements maintained their capacity to do so at the workplace/enterprise level despite their not fulfilling the double threshold requirement. It understands that this provisional measure will remain in force until July 2018. The Committee also notes that the Act has been revised to reduce the branch threshold requirement from 3 per cent to 1 per cent. Noting that the exemption granted to previously authorized trade unions is of a provisional nature, the Committee requests the Government to continue reviewing the impact of the perpetuation of the branch threshold requirement on the trade union movement and the national collective machinery as a whole in full consultation with the social partners, and should it be confirmed that the perpetuation of the 1 per cent threshold has a negative impact on the national collective bargaining machinery, revise the law with a view to removing it. The Committee further requests the Government to keep it informed in this regard.
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- 146. Finally, the Committee requests the Governments and/or complainants concerned to keep it informed of any developments relating to the following cases.
| Case | Last examination on the merits | | Last follow-up examination |
| 2086 (Paraguay) | June 2002 | | March 2017 |
| 2096 (Pakistan) | March 2004 | | June 2016 |
| 2528 (Philippines) | June 2012 | | November 2015 |
| 2533 (Peru) | March 2012 | | March 2016 |
| 2723 (Fiji) | June 2016 | | March 2017 |
| 2750 (France) | November 2011 | | March 2016 |
| 2752 (Montenegro) | November 2016 | | – |
| 2755 (Ecuador) | June 2010 | | March 2011 |
| 2758 (Russian Federation) | November 2012 | | June 2015 |
| 2763 (Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela) | November 2016 | | – |
| 2797 (Democratic Republic of the Congo) | March 2014 | | – |
| 2850 (Malaysia) | March 2012 | | June 2015 |
| 2872 (Guatemala) | November 2011 | | – |
| 2883 (Peru) | November 2016 | | – |
| 2934 (Peru) | November 2012 | | – |
| 2952 (Lebanon) | March 2013 | | June 2016 |
| 2966 (Peru) | October 2013 | | October 2015 |
| 2976 (Turkey) | June 2013 | | March 2016 |
| 3003 (Canada) | March 2017 | | – |
| 3017 (Chile) | March 2016 | | – |
| 3019 (Paraguay) | March 2017 | | – |
| 3022 (Thailand) | November 2016 | | – |
| 3024 (Morocco) | March 2015 | | March 2016 |
| 3039 (Denmark) | November 2014 | | June 2016 |
| 3046 (Argentina) | November 2015 | | – |
| 3047 (Republic of Korea) | March 2017 | | – |
| 3055 (Panama) | November 2015 | | – |
| 3058 (Djibouti) | March 2015 | | March 2017 |
| 3061 (Colombia) | March 2017 | | – |
| 3072 (Portugal) | November 2015 | | – |
| 3083 (Argentina) | November 2015 | | – |
| 3102 (Chile) | November 2015 | | – |
| 3104 (Algeria) | March 2017 | | – |
| 3105 (Togo) | June 2015 | | – |
| 3107 (Canada) | March 2016 | | – |
| 3110 (Paraguay) | June 2016 | | – |
| 3123 (Paraguay) | June 2016 | | – |
| 3171 (Myanmar) | June 2016 | | March 2017 |
| 3172 (Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela) | March 2017 | | – |
| 3180 (Thailand) | March 2017 | | – |
| 3191 (Chile) | March 2017 | | – |
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- 147. The Committee hopes that these Governments will quickly provide the information requested.
- 148. In addition, the Committee has received information concerning the follow-up of Cases Nos 1787 (Colombia), 2153 (Algeria), 2341 (Guatemala), 2362 (Colombia), 2400 (Peru), 2434 (Colombia), 2488 (Philippines), 2512 (India), 2540 (Guatemala), 2566 (Islamic Republic of Iran), 2583 and 2595 (Colombia), 2603 (Argentina), 2637 (Malaysia), 2652 (Philippines), 2656 (Brazil), 2673 (Guatemala), 2694 (Mexico), 2699 (Uruguay), 2700 (Guatemala), 2706 (Panama), 2708 (Guatemala), 2715 (Democratic Republic of the Congo), 2716 (Philippines), 2719 (Colombia), 2725 (Argentina), 2745 (Philippines), 2746 (Costa Rica), 2751 (Panama), 2756 (Mali), 2763 (Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela), 2768 (Guatemala), 2786 (Dominican Republic), 2789 (Turkey), 2793 (Colombia), 2807 (Islamic Republic of Iran), 2816 (Peru), 2827 (Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela), 2833 (Peru), 2837 (Argentina), 2840 (Guatemala), 2852 (Colombia), 2854 and 2856 (Peru), 2860 (Sri Lanka), 2871 (El Salvador), 2882 (Bahrain), 2896 (El Salvador), 2900 and 2915 (Peru), 2916 (Nicaragua), 2917 (Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela), 2924 (Colombia), 2925 (Democratic Republic of the Congo), 2929 (Costa Rica), 2937 (Paraguay), 2946, 2954 and 2960 (Colombia), 2962 (India), 2973 (Mexico), 2979 (Argentina), 2980 and 2985 (El Salvador), 2987 (Argentina), 2988 (Qatar), 2991 (India), 2992 (Costa Rica), 2994 (Tunisia), 2995 (Colombia), 2998 and 2999 (Peru), 3006 (Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela), 3020 (Colombia), 3026 and 3033 (Peru), 3036 (Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela), 3040 (Guatemala), 3041 (Cameroon), 3043 (Peru), 3051 (Japan), 3054 (El Salvador), 3057 (Canada), 3058 (Djibouti), 3059 (Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela), 3064 (Cambodia), 3065 and 3066 (Peru), 3075 (Argentina), 3077 (Honduras), 3085 (Algeria), 3087 (Colombia), 3093 (Spain), 3096 (Peru), 3097 (Colombia), 3098 (Turkey), 3101 (Paraguay), 3114 (Colombia), 3140 (Montenegro), 3142 (Cameroon), 3154 (El Salvador), 3169 (Guinea), 3177 (Nicaragua) and 3182 (Romania), which it will examine as swiftly as possible.
