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Trade UNION Laws

The government is making statements to national and international level, as there is a consensus about trade UNIONs laws among social partners. However the draft text send to government by Ministry of Labour is not inconformity with ILO Conventions and it is limiting freedom of association, right to collective agreement and right to strike. The result of all preparations is not really different from laws of 1980 coup d’etat.

 

Our confederation DİSK has decided to not to attend the Tripartite Consultation Board meetings through which amendments and revisions of trade UNION laws have been discussed by social partners and where DİSK attended to all meetings in fact since July 12, 2011. We would like to share with you our reasons of non attendance decision.

 

As you know very well, the current Trade UNION Laws No. 2821 and 2822 largely restricts the coverage of trade UNION membership and the scope of the implementation of Collective Agreement and Strike. Therefore all legal regulations have not been amended in compatible with the ILO Conventions, EU norms and international standards.

 

DİSK had applied for any solutions at national and international levels for the laws to be amended in line with ILO norms for years. In this context, we informed you regularly about the developments, trade UNION violations. Therefore you have full knowledge about the problems that trade UNIONist are facing and about our demands as well as we have.

 

As it is universally known, trade UNION rights and freedoms constitute three components: Freedom of Organizing, Right for Collective Agreement and Strike. These components are integrated rights as a whole. Lack or absence of one of these rights results in nonfulfilment of the other rights.

 

In last one year, the discussions around the necessity of laws to be amended were multi dimensional. Lastly, after September 12, 2010 Constitutional Amendments, Science Board made a draft law on the demand of Ministry of Labour and Social Security and since July 12,

 

 

 

2011 these draft laws have been discussed by social partners in the Tripartite Consultation Board. DİSK was always the part of the discussion and attended all meetings through its concrete recommendations.  In line with its longstanding position, DİSK made a great effort to contribute to the process. DİSK was always supporter of the understanding of compromising with all social partners. 

 

However, we have to express our disappointment especially on the last phase for the recommended amendments for Collective Agreement Law. Based on our experience for years, we would like to emphasize that incase the draft Law on Collective Agreement including new amendments is agreed and then enacted, it would be the similar version of the current law made by military junta.  

 

After being discussed in many meetings, still the same restrictions remain the last version of draft laws: double threshold, troublesome authorization procedure, prohibitions on strike and other obstacles that contradicts ILO conventions. All so called amendments are shortsighted and just serving for the trade UNIONs laws to be polished. 

Despite Constitutional amendments;

·         Not recognizing the right to make framework agreements and sectoral collective agreements by confederations and trade UNIONs while preserving one level collective agreement order

·         Restricted coverage of collective agreements while excluding many workers to enjoy this right

·         Preserving thresholds at sectoral, enterprise and workplace level

·         Not solving authorization disputes lasting years

·         Preserving compulsory arbitration, prohibitions and restrictions on the right to strike such as general strike, solidarity strike

As long as these issues mentioned above are solved, the recommended amendments are not called as reform. It is principally impossible for us to agree upon the draft law excluding solutions for these issues.

 

For our confederation DİSK, the draft law which is still far behind and contradicts with ILO conventions, Revised European Social Charter and which does not meet the necessities of trade UNION movement of Turkey is largely inadequate. Therefore under these conditions, DİSK has decided to not to attend the next meeting of Tripartite Consultation Board on October 19, 2011.

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