Unions take up the fight against new anti-union legislation in Turkey
February 22, 2012
Unions in Turkey are joining forces in a bid to see off a notorious piece of draft legislation, which, if passed, threatens to erode Labour rights.
Across Turkey, unions have launched a concerted campaign under the auspices of the Trade Union Unity Platform, formed a year ago by labour organisations affiliated to Türk-İş, a Turkish trade union confederation, which includes the ITF-affiliated unions Hava-İş and Tümtis. They issued a joint statement condemning the government’s draft Collective Labour Relations Law, which they believe breaches ILO and EU standards.
Provisions include suggestions that there should be a three per cent threshold in each sector before trade unions can even qualify to undertake collective bargaining. This will deny nearly 60 per cent of existing unions the right to collective bargaining. ILO conventions 87 and 98 on freedom of association and collective bargaining, the ILO's core conventions, which have been ratified by the Turkish government, do not permit thresholds for trade union membership that would effectively deny most unions the right to represent their members.
Another clause of the draft law appears to deliberately target Hava-Is (the principal Turkish aviation union). It gives aviation companies the right to force 40 per cent of their workforce to work during a strike. While ILO core labour standards allow employers and unions to agree rules to maintain minimum services, the imposition of such a law forcing people to work during a strike, is a clear violation of ILO standards and would effectively destroy the ability of trade unions to function.
As part of the union campaign, Hava-İş will on 20 February distribute 20,000 leaflets to aviation workers all over the country to raise awareness. On 21 February, a petition campaign will be launched and Trade Union Unity Platform unions will participate in joint rallies and demonstrations in cities across Turkey.
Atilay Ayçin, Hava-Is president, commented: “The new legislation forces unions to accept legal arrangements that prescribe flexible, unsecured and unregulated working conditions. The brazen attack on the right to strike singles out Hava-Is. For us the right to strike is in no way negotiable.”
Last December, 13 members of Global Unions, including the ITF, raised their concerns about the new draft legislation with Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.