Withdrawal from ILO Delegation

Confederation of Progressive Trade UNIONs of Turkey (DİSK) decided to withdraw from the Delegation of Turkey for 97th International Labour Conference.

 

Notice of Motion for the Law on Trade UNIONs No. 2821 and the Law on Collective Bargaining Agreements No.2822  will not be debated in the General Assembly of Turkish Parliment and it will be delayed to the uncertain date. And also the last version of the Notice of Motion is not in conformity with the ILO norms.

 

OUR ASSESMENT ON NOT REALIZING THE AMMENDMENTS IN THE LAW ON TRADE UNIONS NO. 2821 AND THE LAW ON COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS NO.2822

 

The efforts that are going for a while in order to make amendments on the Law on Trade UNIONs No. 2821 and the Law on Collective Bargaining Agreements No.2822 have been submitted to the Turkish Assembly as a notice of motion of a group of deputies. It has not been submitted as a proposal law supported by the government.

The Notice of Motion merged the envisaged amendments on both Laws into one text. This notice of motion was arranged different from the text consisting of some development charges, which we ,as being employee and employer confederations, agreed on. The Notice of Motion was debated in the concerning Commission in the Assembly and our critics made during these debates were not taken into consideration.

 

Due to the disagreements within the Government, the Notice of Motion did not become a Proposal Law while it was being debated in the Commission. Moreover with respect to some issues, during the debates in the Commission, its content became more unprogressive than it had been submitted to Assembly.

 

Our views on the Notice of Motion had been submitted to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, the Labour Commission of the Turkish Assembly and the deputies.

 

The last version of the Notice of Motion is different from the text made in accordance with our talks to the Government and it is not in conformity with the ILO norms.

 

It does not take into account the required application of international agreements according to Article 90 of our Constitution. Therefore it does not recognize the necessity of being organized.

It does not regulate the establishment of trade UNION of “all”

It envisages the closing trade UNIONs due to the lack of document and information despite its abolishment by the Constitution amendment.

It audits suspiciously every situation related with the membership will of the worker.

It audits the all information about membership

It made a law provision about the situation in which the UNION membership realized by his/her own will is terminated after one year in case the worker becomes unemployment.

It continues to determine the internal management and activities of the trade UNIONs in detail.

While it continues to assure the prohibition on establishment of television and radio that would give opportunity to trade UNIONs for informing the public, it transforms the trade UNIONs and achievements of the members into an instrument of the markets serving as an investment.

It makes thresholds covered that is contradict with ILO standards and preserves the double threshold and high enterprise threshold.

It does not solve the organizing serious and deep problems in the enterprises

It does not envisage prospects for the levels of collective agreements

It does not bring solutions for authority disputes that are the subjects of law suits taking many years

It does not remove the strike prohibitions, It does not mention even the name of the right of general strike and right to strike, it preserves the prohibitions and strike postponements

It does not give up compulsory arbitration

 

The envisaged amendments are not the required, demanded and ideal amendments; they are made with the aim of hoodwinking.

 

Moreover, the restrictions of trade UNION rights and freedoms are increased to double by the imprisonment punishments as a result of the amendments made in the Main Penal Codes by the Law dated on 8th February 2008.

 

Furthermore, before the ILO General Assembly, on the one hand it was promised that as a result of this speedy process the Notice of Motion would become a law by debating in the General Assembly, on the other hand as a reflection of the disagreements within the Government, the efforts have been halted. These developments illustrate that the Notice of Motion will not be debated in the General Assembly and it will be delayed to the uncertain date. It is understood that the Government will not keep the promises that it gives in the ILO Conference.

 

Consequently, Turkey will not be having the Trade UNION regulations that are in conformity with the ILO Conventions No. 87 and No.98. The Laborers of Turkey will be having the laws that are anti-democratic, that restrict the freedoms and that make the using of UNION rights impossible.

 

 

Süleyman Çelebi

President