| The
struggle of trade union activists in Turkey
Threats, abuse and capricious confinements are part of everyday
life for union activists in Turkey.
Limited protection against anti-union
discrimination
Trade union membership or participation in trade union activities
cannot be considered a just motive for dismissing an employee.
However, the size of the fines that can be imposed on employers
who do not respect trade union rights, which had already proved
too small to be dissuasive, was further reduced in the 2003
Labour Act. The law still does not impose any obligation on
the employer to reinstate dismissed trade unionists, other
than union delegates.
The Law on Public Employees Trade Unions (PETU), adopted
by parliament in June 2001, restricts the right to strike
for all public employees' trade unions (covering approximately
two million workers). The Civil Servants Act does not permit
strikes by civil servants.
The law allows the government to suspend a strike for up to
60 days for reasons of national security, health or public
safety. Unions can petition the Council of State to lift such
a suspension, but if the petition is turned down, binding
arbitration can be imposed at the end of the period.
Where strikes are allowed, there is an excessively long waiting
period (nearly three months) from the start of negotiations
to the date when a strike can be held, and the union must
follow specific steps. Collective bargaining must take place
first. If there is a decision to go ahead with strike action,
the employer must be given at least one week's notice. Employers
are allowed to lock striking workers out, but not to hire
strikebreakers or use administrative staff to do the jobs
of the strikers. They may not dismiss workers who encourage
or take part in legal strikes.
It is prohibited to prevent raw materials entering a factory
or finished products leaving it, and to prevent non-union
members from working. Only four or five strikers can remain
at the factory gates to supervise the strike, and they may
not set up a tent or any kind of shelter, nor hang up banners
that say anything other than, "There is a strike at this
workplace".
ICFTU Annual Survey of Trade Unions Rights 2004
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