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A NEW ERA IN TURKISH LABOUR RELATIONS:LAW ON TRADE UNIONSAND COLLECTIVE LABOUR AGREEMENTS NO. 6356

REPUBLIC OF TURKEYMINISTRY OF LABOUR AND SOCIAL SECURITY

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A New Era in Turkish Labour Relations: Law on Trade Unions and Collective Labour Agreements No. 6356

A NEW ERA IN TURKISH LABOUR RELATIONS:LAW ON TRADE UNIONS

AND COLLECTIVE LABOUR AGREEMENTS

NO. 6356


Edited by :Ali AYBEY

Prepared By:Ali Ercan SUDilek YÜKSELMedeni Can AKINGizem F. ÇETİNŞeniz ÖZMERT KOÇER

Postal Adress:

İnönü Bulvarı No: 42

06520 Emek / ANKARA /TURKEY

Web: www.csgb.gov.tr

e-mail: [email protected]

ISBN: 978-975-455-189-1

Design

mtr tanıtım görsel hizmetler

Printing

Altan Matbaası

March 2013, Ankara


A NEW ERA IN TURKISH LABOUR RELATIONS:LAW ON TRADE UNIONS

AND COLLECTIVE LABOUR AGREEMENTS

NO. 6356


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MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND SOCIAL SECURITY

Social dialogue has been one of the most important priorities of our administration. We consider trade unions as an integral part of labour relations. In this context, in all steps we made regarding industrial relations in Turkey in the last ten years, our efforts focused on reflecting both workers’ and employers’ views and considerations to an utmost extent possible in policy-making process.

However suspension of trade union activities after 1980 military intervention and the enactment of a new constitution in 1982 has undoubtedly effected Turkish trade unionism negatively. Numerous restrictions that the Constitution of 1982 brought to the activities of trade unions -willingly or unwillingly- were reflected in the legislation regarding collective labour relations. These restrictions had also severe impact on our country’s relations with International Labour Organization (ILO), Council of Europe and the European Union for the last 30 years.

The approval of Constitutional amendments by a Referendum on September 12, 2010, opened the way for the elimination of the restrictions brought by the military rule. In line with the constitutional amendment, we initiated the necessary works for the revision of

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the legislation governing collective labour relations with a liberal outlook. Consequently, the Law on Trade Unions and Collective Labour Agreements No: 6356 has been adopted on October 18, 2012 in Turkish Grand National Assembly and entered into force on November 7, 2012. The law, which was prepared to a large extent with the consensus of social partners, rearranges the trade union rights and freedoms and the right to collective bargaining and agreement on the basis of the principles of a free and democratic society.

In the drafting process of the law, international norms, Turkey’s EU membership perspective, structural problems of working life, jurisprudence, comments from academic circles and the latest debates in the world were also taken into account.

Collective bargaining processes and trade union rights and freedoms in the new law were rearranged with a view to align with ILO conventions and related articles of the European Social Charter. The rights such as establishing a trade union, trade union membership, becoming a union leader, guarantees for the trade unions, functioning of trade unions, collective bargaining, labour agreements and settlements of labour disputes were also revised in line with international norms.

The new law, which is expected to take system of industrial relations a step further, reflects the global values and contemporary requirements and brings about solutions to the deep-rooted problems of the working life. The right to strike and lockout, which had been excessively intervened and restricted by the State for a long time, has been reformulated. The scope of prohibition of legal strikes and lockouts was limited to essential public services of vital importance. The new law identified framework agreement and collective group labour agreement for the first time in Turkish industrial system.

I hope that this booklet will be a useful guide for better understanding of the new era in the Turkish labour relations. I wish this law, which is an outcome of effective social dialogue and culture of consensus, will contribute to the well-being of all partners of working life.

Faruk ÇELİK

Minister of Labour and Social Security

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Table of Contents

PREFACE ...................................................................... 4

PART I - Evolving Labour Relations .............................................. 9

1. Pre-Republican Period ................................................. 10

2. Early Republican Era (1923 – 1946) ............................. 13

3. Transition to Multi-Party Democracy (1946 – 1960) ... 14

4. Turbulent Times (1960 – 1980) ................................... 16

5. Aftermath of the Military Intervention (1980-1995) ... 17

6. Normalization of Industrial Relations in Dire Economic Conditions (1995-2002) ................................................... 18

7. Millennium Period (2002-…) ........................................ 19

May 1 Labour and Solidarity Day ................................................... 21

PART II - Labour Unions in Turkey ............................................. 23

PART III - International Cooperation .......................................... 29

International Labour Organization (ILO) ........................................ 30

Council of Europe and European Social Charter ............................ 34

European Union Accession Process ............................................... 37

PART IV - The New Law the New Horizons................................. 41

Brief Overview of the Law ............................................................. 42

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1. Holistic and simplified legislation in line with

international norms ....................................................................... 45

2. Freedom of association as a fundemental human right ............. 46

3. Simplified process for the establishment and organization

of trade unions ........................................................................ 47

4. Removal of strict requirements for being a founding

member of a trade union .............................................................. 48

5. Procedures appeased regardingcooperation with

internationalemployee/employer organizations ........................... 49

6. Easier processes for trade union6 membership ......................... 50

7. The minimum age for trade union membership is decreased.... 50

8. Multiple trade union membership ............................................. 51

9. Sustaining trade union membership during temporary

unemployment ........................................................................ 52

10. Number of the Branches of Activity is decreased ................... 53

11. Reduced Thresholds ................................................................. 55

12. Gradual Transition to the Branch of Activity Threshold............ 56

13. Cases for determination of branch of activity will

not affect collective agreement processes .................................... 57

14. The transfer of the whole or a part of the workplace .............. 58

15. Group collective labour agreements ........................................ 59

16. Framework agreements ........................................................... 60

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17. Guarantees for shop stewards .................................................. 61

18. Guarantees for trade union managers ..................................... 61

19. Transparency of financial transactions ..................................... 62

20. Protection of Legal Entity of Unions ......................................... 63

21. Representation in the Higher Board of Arbitration .................. 63

22. Restrictions on the right to strike are removed. ....................... 64

23. The scope of legal prohibitions on strikes and lockouts are narrowed down ........................................................................ 65

24. Damages inflicted by individuals on the workplaces

during the strikes are no longer under the responsibility

of the trade unions ........................................................................ 66

25. Restrictions on pickets are removed ........................................ 67

26. Administrative fines replace imprisonment ............................. 68

PART V - The Text of Law on Trade Unions and Collective Labour Agreements .................................................................... 69

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PART IEvolving Labour Relations

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Although labour relations in Turkey is being discussed widely nowadays, its roots date back to the Middle Ages. Therefore, in order to give a better perspective of Turkish labour relations it will be evaluated under various periods.

1. Pre-Republican Period

Working relations history began with Akhism which sets a framework of certain principles and rules for the smooth operation of business life. It also reflected itself on the socio-cultural life through certain values and practices as well as the training services provided for its members. The term Akhism signifies an influential alliance between the thirteenth and the nineteenth centuries for the progress of Turkish tradesmen and craftsmen in terms of professionalism and ethics.

In the culture of Akhism where ‘knowledgeable holds the hand of the unwitting’, the purpose of education is to increase moral and professional knowledge and skill of the individual in conformity with the religious essence of Islam. The training other than work life is in the form of a general education to attain happiness both in worldly life and the thereafter. In this respect, especially for the

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improvement of skills of the youth, courses such as beautiful writing, music, behavioural rules and sports have been included, resembling personnel manuals in contemporary businesses today.

The value attributed to the concept of motivation in Akhism is totally moral. Although material incentives are among the contemporary applications to get more efficient performance from employees, moral factors such as proper physical conditions, training seminars and meetings are implemented. In addition to all effects of Akhism in working relations they use a wage system which protects to minimum life standards.1

Even though the phenomenon of Akhism was also prevalent during the Ottoman period, there is not a long-standing history of Turkish workers’ movement due to inadequate level of economic development and lack of proper legal regulations during the Ottoman period. However, one can talk about the existence of workers’ organizations -developed unevenly and irregularly- in the Ottoman Empire.

The first workers’ organization that was established in the pre-

1 Akhism as a Non-Governmental Association Model in the History of the Turkish Nation and an Assessment of Todays’ Business Ethics: A Relationship or a Contradiction”, Journal of Human Values, March 16, 2005

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republican period is the Society of Labourers (1871). However, it’s known that the mentioned organization was much more like a provident fund rather than a trade union. Society of Ottoman Labourers (1894), on the other hand, is accepted as the first organization having the characteristics of a trade union.

Following the proclamation of the Second Constitutional Order (1908) in the Ottoman Empire, social phenomena related with the trade union activities of modern nature have started to exert their influence: The number of workers in the large provinces of the Empire is estimated to be over 100,000. Workers were organized in the economic sectors such as railways, mines, urban transportation, loading and unloading, construction, and printing. In the absence of a protective legislation regulating the relations between employers and workers, this period experienced a considerable number of strikes.

At the end of the First World War, which marked the collapse of Ottoman Empire, several new trade unions were established in Istanbul. Strikes in the field of railway and urban transportation took place between the years 1914-1922.

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2. Early Republican Era (1923 – 1946)

After the proclamation of the Turkish Republic, the legal basis for trade unionism was still inadequate in Turkey. The efforts for the foundation of a central organization representing the workers was initiated with the Economy Congress at Izmir that convened in 1923 and following the Congress, Society of Turkish Labourers (Türkiye Amele Birliği) was set up.

1924 Constitution recognized the right to freedom of association for every citizen. However, the prohibition of strikes organized by trade unions impaired the development of trade union movements. Workers, on the other hand, established solidarity associations in the provinces of İstanbul, İzmir, Edirne, Bursa, Adana, Konya and Eskişehir.

According to the Code of Obligations dated 1926, employer associations and labour unions were given the right to conclude general agreements organising the working conditions at the workplaces.

The Great Depression of 1929 however had negative impacts on the Turkish economy. In addition to the negative impacts of the economic crisis, the limitations on the right to association during this period exacerbated the already difficult working conditions of the workers.

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Another important development in this period is the establishment of Office of Labour under the organizational framework of the Ministry of Economy in 1934. This office can be considered as the pioneer of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.

Although the Labour Law, which was enacted in 1936, brought about improvements in certain aspects, it did not contain any provisions for the trade unions and also prohibited the right to strike. In cases of disputes at the workplace the Law introduced a compulsory conciliation and arbitration system.

The prohibition of the establishment of class-based organizations with the enactment of Associations Act II (1938) had also restrictive impacts on trade union movements.

3. Transition to Multi-Party Democracy (1946 – 1960)

Transition to democracy through multi-party system, has brought about a liberal climate in industrial relations. Turkish trade union movement began to flourish in parallel with the transition to democracy in the 1940s.

The Office of Labour in the Ministry of Economy was designated as a separate ministry, namely the Ministry of Labour on June 7, 1945. In addition to the existing Ministry, another Ministry in charge of social security was also established on November 17, 1974. Later on they were merged to form the Ministry of Labour and Social Security on December 13, 1983.

With an amendment in 1946, the ban on establishment of an association on the basis of class was lifted, which means the prohibition for the establishment of trade unions did no longer exist.

Law No. 5018, which entered into force in 1947, recognized the establishment of trade unions based on the branch of activity principle. The Law also included financial and political supervision of the state on trade unions, requirement of obtaining Council of Ministers’ consent for international cooperation and ban on political activities of trade unions. Yet, the right to collective agreement was not recognized.

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In 1947 Labour Assembly which is an important mechanism for social dialogue, was convened for the first time.

Although Trade Unions Act No. 5018 prohibited trade union involvement in political activities, by the year 1947 trade unions were already divided into two political camps. In 1950, Association of Free Trade Unions was established against the existing Association of İstanbul Trade Unions.

With the establishment of Turkish Labour Unions Confederation (TÜRK-İŞ) on July 31, 1952 the influence of the trade unions in Turkey began to be felt strongly.

While there were significant developments regarding unionisation in Turkey, complementary public institutions and bodies were also established within the framework of the Ministry. For instance, Labour Institute for Near and Middle East was founded in 1955 as a result of cooperation between the Ministry and the ILO.

This period is considered as the initial phase of the progression of Turkish trade union movements. One of the concrete developments regarding the progress of Turkish trade unionism in this period is the ratification of the ILO Convention No. 98 on Right to Organize

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and Collective Bargaining. Nevertheless, during this period the trade unions were weak in all terms, i.e. social, political, and financial, which led to a low number of trade unions and low level of unionization among workers.

4. Turbulent Times (1960 – 1980)

Following the military intervention in 1960, a new Constitution was adopted, which included the principal of social state for the first time in the history of Turkish Republic. In the light of this principle, the scope of economic and social rights and freedoms were expanded, including the freedom of association. Following these developments, the first major worker rally took place in Istanbul on December 31, 1961.

In 1963, in accordance with the Constitution, the Trade Unions Law No. 274 and Collective Agreement, Strike and Lock-out Law No. 275 came into force. After these developments, which resulted in a relatively liberal climate, political differences between workers’ organizations showed up. As a reaction to the activities and policies of TÜRK-İŞ, some alternative organizations came into being namely the Confederation of Progressive Workers’ Unions (DİSK) in 1967 and the HAK-İŞ Confederation in 1976.

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In this period, there were also significant developments regarding the organizations of employers. For instance, in 1961, six employers’ unions were merged and established the Association of İstanbul Employers Unions. In 1962, Turkish Confederation of Employers’ Associations (TİSK) was established.

Ideological clashes between the unions turned out to be politically violent in the context of political turmoil in the country since the end of the 1960s. Increased violence and public polarization once again resulted in military intervention to parliamentary system in 1971. The liberal outlook of 1960s came to an end with the subsequent Constitutional amendments which brought restrictions on democratic rights and freedoms, including the rights and freedoms related with trade unions. However, these measures could not manage to stop the political violence that spread out to the whole country.

5. Aftermath of the Military Intervention (1980-1995)

The military intervention on September 12, 1980 suspended many political, social and civil rights including the freedom of association. Right after the military intervention, on-going strikes were declared illegal and the activities of confederations such as DİSK and HAK-İŞ were halted. The new Constitution of 1982 provided a strict legal

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framework for the restriction of right to collective association and collective bargaining.

The Law on Trade Unions No. 2821 and the Law on Collective Labour Agreement, Strike and Lockout No. 2822 that were enacted in 1983 included quite a number of restrictive provisions. With the help of these laws, National Security Council, which consisted of military officials, aimed at controlling the industrial relations system as the ruling authority. These limitations have adversely affected the pace of development of industrial labour relations for the last thirty years. Nevertheless, the progress of trade unionism continued slowly.

6. Normalization of Industrial Relations in Dire Economic Conditions (1995-2002)

With the constitutional amendments in 1995, which followed the ratification of ILO Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize in 1993, prohibitions on the political activity of trade unions and their cooperation with associations and public professional organisations have been legalized. Furthermore, the ban on the union rights for the civil servants has also been removed.

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Administrative and financial control of state over the trade unions and the requirement of keeping all revenues at state-owned banks have been removed along with the amendment in the constitution.Although this period can be considered as a normalization period regarding the labour relations in Turkey, frequent economic crisis decreased the pace of the progress. In this context, there had been some liberal revisions in the legislation related to industrial relations. However, the restrictions brought by the consecutive military rules, especially the system set by the Constitution of 1982, could not be totally removed. Compared to difficult domestic conditions, this period is marked with the international integration of Turkish trade unions.

7. Millennium Period (2002-…)As summarized above, restrictive and authoritarian system created by 1982 Constitution and related legislation adversely affected Turkish trade unionism and the Turkish industrial relations system. In order to reform this system, which had negatively affected Turkey in international platforms, partial amendments were made throughout 2000s, especially in order to meet ILO norms and EU standards. These partial amendments included: • Strengthening of the guarantees for shop stewards and the

guarantees for the trade unions in general (2002), • Liberalizing the social activity rights of the trade unions (2005), • Removing the strict regime regarding the general assembly

elections of trade unions (2007-2008).

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These ad-hoc efforts had not brought a comprehensive solution to the problems encountered in practice. Their impacts turned out to be insignificant amid the general strict regime provided by the laws. At this point, it came out that it would not be possible to achieve a considerable progress in Turkish labour relations without total replacement of the Law No. 2821 and 2822. Thus, an initiative was launched in order to prepare a new piece of legislation with a holistic and liberal approach. In line with this initiative, some major changes regarding fundamental rights and freedoms took place with the constitutional amendments in 2010 with a referendum. After these constitutional amendments, complementary legislative revision was needed in order to reflect

liberal outlook in the legislation related with collective labour relations.In this context, a draft law on trade unions and collective labour relations was prepared with the aim of merging Law No. 2821 and Law No. 2822 into a single law. During the preparation of the draft document, international norms and standards concerning association and collective bargaining rights, specific conditions of Turkey, 2010 constitutional amendments and the developments in the literature were taken into account to the utmost extent possible. The process included various Tripartite Advisory Board meetings as well as consultation with relevant organizations and NGOs.

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May 1 has been officially recognized as a public holiday as of 2009 and named as ‘Labour and Solidarity Day’ in Turkey.

May 1, which is accepted as a day of unity, solidarity and struggle of workers, was celebrated for the first time in Turkey, İzmir in 1905 and in İstanbul in 1910 during the Ottoman period.

Since the proclamation of the Republic, the celebrations of the May 1 have witnessed mass participation of workers coming from all around Turkey. The most unfortunate incidence took place in 1977 Taksim Square meeting, in which 34 citizens lost their lives due to shooting towards the crowd and subsequent turmoil. After this incidence, which is considered as one of the most painful events of the history of workers’ movement, Taksim Square had been closed to the May 1 celebrations since 1979.

May 1 celebrations however, continued in the form of mass demonstrations in the different locations -legally or illegally-. Nevertheless, Taksim Square witnessed tense demonstrations in May 1 celebrations, particularly after 1993.

May 1 Labour and Solidarity Day

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Following these difficult and tense times, government took a great step displaying its sympathy with workers by declaring May 1 as ‘Labour and Solidarity Day’ with the decision of the Council of Ministers dated April 21, 2008. In 2009 an amendment has also been made in ‘The Law on National and Public Holidays’ No. 5892 which established May 1 a public holiday in legal terms.

May 1 has started to be widely celebrated again as the day of unity, solidarity and struggle of workers after 2010 in a more peaceful manner. Since then, May 1 celebrations took place all around the country, including the Taksim Square which was closed for such celebrations since 1979. The Minister of Labour and Social Security, Mr Faruk Çelik became the first minister participating in May 1 celebration in 2012 since the unfortunate events of 1977.

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PART IILabour Unions in Turkey

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As summarized above, although there had been tough times

regarding the trade union movements in Turkey, as of today Turkish

trade unions have achieved a considerable progress. For instance,

they have become members of the international confederations

of trade unions and have been taking active roles in international

platforms. Currently, political, economic and social influence of trade

unions is growing steadily. There are also several influential members

of Turkish Parliament who have trade union background.

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From Ambiguity to Clarity

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The certification of competence for a trade union to conclude a collective labour agreement is determined according to the statistics that include the number of union members as well as the rate of unionization for a given trade union.

Until enactment of the new law in the year 2012, trade union statistics were based on notifications sent by trade unions to the Ministry. However, this mode of conduct was far from being accurate in terms of reflecting the actual numbers and the latest developments. For instance, a person who ceases to be a worker due to retirement, dismissal or death continued to be a union member according to this method. What is more, this system was unable to detect the duplicate registrations. Therefore, the statistics derived by this methodology turned out to be illusionary.

In order to overcome this problem, the numbers given to the Ministry are started to be cross-checked with the figures derived from the database of the Social Security Institution (SGK) since 2009.

With the new legislation Public Notary requirement for new membership and withdrawal from membership is also repealed. It is now possible to become a trade union member by simply registering via e-Government system.

As a result of these developments, more accurate figures regarding the members of trade unions have become available. According to the recent statistics2 , the unionization rate has been officially declared as 9.21% for the year 2013. Even though this figure can be considered as a decrease if it is compared with the last year’s official numbers derived by the old method, it represents a significant increase when it is compared with the estimates of OECD for the previous years.

2 Published in Official Gazette on January 26, 2013 No. 28540.

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Confederation Number of Members

TÜRK-İŞ

HAK-İŞ

DİSK

Independent

TOTAL

The Number of Members and the Share of Confederations

Independent;25,993;2.59%

DİSK;100,202;

10%

HAK-İŞ;163,413;16.31%

TÜRK-İŞ;712,063;71.09%

712,063

163,413

100,202

25,993

1,001,671

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PART IIIInternational Cooperation

Especially for the last decade, Turkey has been pursuing an active foreign policy. Apart from becoming a pivotal actor in its region, it also turned out to be an influential partner in the international organizations, such as holding the temporary seat at United Nations Security Council (2009-2010), chairing Council of Europe Committee of Ministers (2010-2011).

This activity and influence in external relations were also reflected in the international platforms related with labour.

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International Labour Organization (ILO)

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Turkey’s relations with the ILO dates back to the early years of the last century. Initially Turkey gained observer status within ILO in 1927 and became a full member in 1932. Since then, Turkey has been actively participating in all of its activities. In all aspects of the organization of working life, the ILO norms are taken into consideration.

Turkey, which is geographically located among the European and Central Asian countries, had been elected to the ILO Governing Body in six occasions, in 1948-51, 1954-57 and 1996-99 periods as a Regular Member and in 1975-78, 1987-90 and 2002-05 periods as a Deputy Member.

Turkey is a party to all of the eight ILO Fundamental Conventions and has ratified 56 out of 189 ILO Conventions and transposed them into its national legislation. Within the framework of this cooperation between Turkey and the ILO, an office of ILO was established in İstanbul in 1952 and it was moved to Ankara in 1976.

Recently, a Memorandum of Understanding for Decent Work Country Priorities was signed between the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and the ILO in the year 2009. The preparatory works for an agreement between Turkey and the ILO for further cooperation

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and transferring Turkey’s experience and expertise in various fields pertaining to labour relations to third countries in Turkey’s close neighbourhood are still in progress.

A concrete example of the cooperation between Turkey and the ILO is the organization of the XIX World Congress on Safety and Health at Work by Turkey in İstanbul on September 11-15, 2011. More than five thousand participants attended to the Congress. The signature of İstanbul Declaration on Occupational Health and Safety by 33 Ministers of different countries was a significant achievement of this Congress.

The details regarding the three ILO Conventions related with the subject of this booklet, namely the trade unions and collective labour agreements, are as follows:

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise

Convention No. 87 (1948)

ILO Convention on the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (Convention No. 87) has been ratified by Turkey in 1993.

Convention No. 87, which guarantees the rights of workers and employers to establish trade unions, was taken into consideration during the drafting process of the newly enacted Law No. 6356. With the implementation of the new law, further alignment with the provisions of the aforementioned Convention will be maintained.

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Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining


ILO Convention on the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (Convention No. 98) is considered as a complementary text of the Convention No. 87. Turkey has been a party to this Convention since 1952.

With recent changes brought by the new law, restrictions on right to organize have been removed. It is envisaged that the criticisms towards Turkey related with the provisions of the Convention No. 98 will be largely removed with the implementation of the new law.

Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards)


ILO Convention on the Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards), which requires States Party to establish necessary mechanisms for an effective consultation between workers, employers and government, has been ratified by Turkey in 1993.

In this context, with the Article 114 of the Turkish Labour Law No. 4857, a “Tripartite Advisory Board” has been established in accordance with the provisions of the Convention. The Board, which consists of the representatives of workers’ and employers’ organizations and related public officials, continues to function effectively. During the preparations of the new law, the Board has convened various times.

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Council of Europe and European Social Charter

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Turkey is one of the founding members of the Council of Europe which

was established in 1949. Its objectives are stated as to protect and

strengthen the principles of human rights, rule of law and democracy

in Europe.

Along with being a party to the European Convention on Human Rights

since 1954, Turkey ratified both versions of European Social Charter,

which guarantees social and economic human rights. European Social

Charter of 1961 was ratified by Turkey in 1989 and Revised European

Social Charter of 1996 has been ratified in 2007.

By ratifying the Revised European Social Charter, Turkey accepted 29

out of 31 rights that are secured by the Charter, and 91 out of 98

clauses, thus being one of the countries that recognized the most

rights and clauses.

Although Turkey has not accepted the Article 5 on the “Right to

Organize” and Article 6 on the “Right to Bargain Collectively” of the

Revised European Social Charter yet, the provisions of the related

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Articles had been taken into consideration in the drafting process

of the new law. As a result, the rights foreseen by these Articles

have become to a large extend part of Turkish national legislation.

Furthermore, Turkey considers removing its reservations on the

Articles 5 and 6 of the Charter. The consultations regarding the

ratification of them are still in progress.

Another example of the close relationship between Turkey and

the Council of Europe is the organization of the 2nd Conference

of Council of Europe Ministers Responsible for Social Cohesion by

Turkey in İstanbul on October 11-12, 2012. The İstanbul Ministerial

Declaration, which was adopted at the end of the Conference, can

also be considered as an important document in this regard.

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European Union Accession Process

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Turkey-EU relations were initiated in the framework of an association regime based on Ankara Agreement which was signed with the European Economic Community on September 12, 1963 and took effect on December 1, 1964.

Ankara Agreement envisaged three stages for the integration of Turkey with the EU, namely a preparatory stage, a transitional stage and a final stage. The completion of the Customs Union was planned at the end of the transitional stage. With the finalisation of the preparatory stage as foreseen in the Agreement, provisions of the transitional stage and the obligations of the Parties were determined in the Additional Protocol signed on November 13, 1970 and put into effect as of 1973.

The establishment of the Customs Union on January 1, 1996 marked the completion of the transitional stage and constitutes an important stage for integration with the EU. The level of relations between the Parties reached to an advanced point with the completion of the Customs Union and full membership to the EU remains the ultimate goal of Turkey as indicated in Ankara Agreement (Article 28). The Customs Union continues to be a fundamental dimension of Turkey’s relations with the EU.

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A new period began for the relations between Turkey and the EU after Turkey received “candidate status” during the Helsinki Summit on December 10-11, 1999. At the Brussels Summit on December 16-17, 2004, the decisions taken in the 1999 Helsinki Summit were reaffirmed, as the Council took note that Turkey sufficiently fulfilled the political criteria and decided to open accession negotiations with Turkey on October 3, 2005. Accession negotiations were launched on the abovementioned date, as planned.

In the accession process, 13 chapters out of total 35 chapters have been opened to negotiations so far and 1 of them has been provisionally closed.

Ministry of Labour and Social Security is directly responsible for two chapters; “Chapter No. 2 - Free Movement of Workers” and “Chapter No. 19 - Social Policy and Employment”. The screening process of both chapters was completed in 2006. Turkey still awaits the final screening report on Chapter 2, i.e. Free Movement of Workers, to be submitted by the European Commission. For this reason, no significant development took place regarding this chapter.

For the Chapter 19, which is on Social Policy and Employment, European Commission presented the final screening report to Turkey, with sets out two benchmarks for the opening of negotiations for this Chapter:

The first benchmark for opening the accession negotiations for the Chapter 19 was stated as;

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“Turkey needs to ensure that full trade union rights are respected in line with EU standards and the relevant ILO Conventions, in particular as regards the right to organize, the right to strike and the right to bargain collectively. To this effect, Turkey needs to eliminate existing restrictions and adopt fully revised legislation in this area for both private and public sectors”.

The second benchmark was stated as;

“Turkey needs to provide the Commission with an action plan for the gradual implementation and enforcement throughout the country of the acquis in each area covered by this Chapter for the benefit of the entire workforce, including undeclared workers. This plan should include: a) an economic and social analysis on undeclared work in Turkey, b) a timetable of measures envisaged, c) the identification of resources allocated, d) the identification of the institutions and social partners involved. For each of the above steps, a gender mainstreaming approach needs to be adopted, with particular attention to be given to women’s participation in the labour market”.

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PART IVThe New Law the New Horizons

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Laws regulating trade unions and collective bargaining are combined under a single Law.

Coherence of definition is ensured among the legislation.

Employees working with a labour contract and self-employed persons are included in the scope of the definition of “worker”.

The requirements for becoming a founding member of a trade union are eased.

The limitations on the establishment of trade unions are removed.

The limitations on the composition of trade union organs are repealed.

The content of branch of activities is reorganized in line with the international practices and standards, thus the number of the branches decreased to 20 from 28.

Requests for the determination of the branch of activity shall not be regarded as a reason for delaying authorisation of competency for trade unions.

Brief Overview of the Law

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The right to become a member of multiple trade unions is provided for the workers who work at different workplaces under the same branch of activity.

The Public Notary requirement for the new membership and withdrawal from membership is repealed.

The upper limit for the membership dues is cancelled and leaving it to the statutes of the trade unions.

Continuing to be a trade union member for the periods of temporary unemployment is enabled.

The procedures for trade unions to be a founder of international employee/employer organizations, to send their members/representatives, to open up foreign branches have been simplified.

Protection of managers of trade unions is reorganized and strengthened.

Protection of shop stewards is also strengthened.

Guarantees for the freedom of trade unions are strengthened.

Transparency of financial transactions undertaken by trade unions and confederations is ensured.

Legal personality of trade unions is protected by the recognition of the principle of the individuality of crimes for trade union managers.

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The branch of activity of trade unions will be determined by themselves in their own statues rather than solely by the government.

Framework agreement opportunity is provided which will give a way to multi-level bargaining.

A legal structure has been provided for the group collective agreements.

The transfer of the whole or a part of workplace will not be a reason anymore to terminate the collective labour agreement in effect.

The branch of activity threshold is reduced to 3% from 10% while the enterprise threshold is reduced to 40% from 50%.

The scope of prohibitions on strikes and lock-outs are narrowed.

The regulations on prohibition of strike-like actions are removed from the legislation.

All of the confederations can be represented in the Higher Board of Arbitration.

The limitations for the strike pickets are removed.

In the cases of breaches of the Law No. 6356, imprisonment is no longer applicable; rather the administrative fines are to be applied.

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With the new law, coherence among the legislation related with labour has been ensured. The text of the new law is shorter, concise and easier to understand.

Law on Trade Unions No. 2821 and Law on Collective Labour Agreement, Strike and Lock-Out No. 2822, which included 152 articles altogether, have been merged into a single Law including 83 articles.

The terms such as “worker”, “employer” and “workplace” have been re-defined in accordance with the definitions of the Labour Law No. 4857. Therefore, coherence of definition has been ensured among the legislation. Employees working with a labour contract and self-employed persons are included in the scope of the definition of “worker”.

ILO Conventions No. 87 and No. 98 were considered as the basic documents that were taken into account during the preparatory process of the new law.

Furthermore, meeting the standards of the opening benchmarks for EU accession negotiations on Chapter 19 (Social Policy and Employment) were also regarded as an important objective, along with the norms determined by the European Social Charter.

Harmonization with the Constitutional Amendments of 2010 has been achieved.

Holistic, Simple and Appropriate Legislation to International Norms1

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Turkey has witnessed numerous restrictions in terms of freedom association in the history of labour relations. The new law, however, was prepared with a view that sees the freedom of association as an integral part of fundamental human rights.

Fight against discrimination among workers based on trade union membership was regarded as a core policy objective and has been strengthened with the related legislation.

Freedom of association as a fundemental human right 2

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Simplified process for the establishment and organization of trade unions

3

The establishment process of trade unions was simplified in line with the ILO norms and EU standards.

The requirement of announcement in a national newspaper for the newly established trade unions has been removed. Instead, establishment of a new trade union will be announced via internet by Ministry.

The obligatory organs of the organizations (trade unions and confederations) are identified as follows; “General Assembly”, “Executive Board”, “Board of Auditors” and “Disciplinary Board”. Apart from these basic requirements, the new law gives space to the organizations themselves to establish further organs.

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Removal of strict requirements for being a founding member of a trade union

4The requirements such as being a Turkish citizen, literate in Turkish and actively employed in a given branch of activity are removed for being a founding member of a trade union. For instance, a worker who is employed in a specific branch of activity can establish a trade union in a different branch of activity.

In addition, the scope of limitations for conviction of crimes that envisaged in the Turkish Penal Code has been narrowed for being a founding member. For instance, imprisonment for a period of one year or more due to intentionally committed crimes, the crimes against the Constitutional order and its functioning, crimes against public order, crimes against the State, and espionage will no longer be a reason against the use of this right.

As a result of the new arrangements, better alignment of Turkish legislation with ILO norms has been ensured

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Procedures appeased regarding cooperation with international employee/employer organizations

5

The new law envisages that in order to achieve their objectives identified in their statutes, the organizations can be founder of an international employee/employer organization, acquire membership and withdraw from membership, cooperate with these organizations, send or receive members or representatives and establish foreign representative offices. Previously these rights were highly controlled by the state.

In the repealed Law No. 2821, there were not any provisions stating that the international organizations can open representative offices in Turkey. The new law thus introduces freedom for international organizations’ activities in Turkey as well.

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The minimum age for trade union membership is decreased 7

As a result of coherency in definitions and in line with the Labour Law No. 4857, the minimum age required to be a member of a trade union has been lowered to 15 instead of 16.

Easier processes for trade union membership6

Detailed information on identity will no longer be required for membership to and withdrawal from the trade unions.

Instead of Public Notary requirement, which was costly and time-consuming, an easier, concise and more economic method was preferred; i.e. these processes will be realized through e-Government portal with an electronic application system that will be developed by the Ministry.

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Multiple trade union membership8

With the Constitutional Amendment of 2010, the provision of Article 51 that “Membership in more than one labour union cannot be obtained at the same time and in the same work branch” is repealed. Thereby, with the new law the right to become member of more than one trade union for a worker is recognized.

As for the part-time workers, who are contracted by different employers at the same branch of activity, multiple trade union membership is also allowed.

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Sustaining trade union membership during temporary unemployment

9

In the previous laws regulating collective labour relations, there was no phrase in relation to whether the unemployed persons’ union membership will continue or not. Therefore, the unemployed persons faced previously the risk of social exclusion and losing their union rights.

In order to comply with the relevant judicial decisions in unemployed persons’ favour; the new law foresees that the temporary unemployment (which is up to one year) shall not be regarded as a reason for the cancellation of trade union membership.

The membership of the workers practicing compulsory military service will be temporarily suspended instead of being cancelled.

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Number of the Branches of Activity is decreased 10

In Turkey, the workplaces are classified according to the branches of activity. In the Law No. 2821, dated 1983, the number of branches of activity was determined as 28.

After receiving the opinions of workers’ and employers’ confederations, the number of branches of activity is decreased in line with the international practices and standards (in accordance with NACE - Rev. 2)3 and identified as 20.

With the new law, the auxiliary activities in a workplace are still considered as in the same branch of activity with the main work.

3 Nomenclature statistique des activités économie dans la Communaté européenne

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No Branches of Activity

1 Hunting, fisheries, agriculture, and forestry

2 Food industry

3 Mining and stone quarries

4 Petroleum, chemicals, rubber, plastics, and medicine

5 Textile, ready-made clothing, and leather

6 Wood and paper

7 Communication

8 Printing, publishing, and journalism

9 Banking, finance, and insurance

10 Commerce, office, education, and fine arts

11 Cement, clay, and glass

12 Metal

13 Construction

14 Energy

15 Transport

16Shipbuilding and maritime transportation, warehouse and

storage

17 Health and social services

18 Accommodation and entertainment

19 Defence and security

20 General affairs

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Reduced Thresholds 11Branch of activity threshold, which is essential for making collective agreement for trade unions, is reduced from 10% to 1% until 2016, eventually stabilising after a transitional period of five years.

Furthermore, enterprise threshold, which is one of the key aspects of obtaining competence to conclude collective labour agreements, has also been reduced from 50% to 40%.

For a trade union to conclude a collective agreement; it is required to represent:

In the case where two trade unions representing 40% or more of the workers at the same enterprise, then the trade union, which has majority in terms workers represented in the enterprise, will be authorized to make collective agreement.

1 %

50 % +1 40 % or

at least 1% of workers at the branch of activity

40% of the workers at the enterprises

at least “50% + 1” of the workers at the workplace

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Gradual Transition to the Branch of Activity Threshold12

As previously mentioned, the branch of activity threshold will be gradually implemented after a transitional period:

• 1% for the period between January 2013 and July 2016,

• 2% for the period between July 2016 and July 2018, and

• 3% for the period after July 2018.

These thresholds apply for the trade unions that are member of confederations which are represented in the Economic and Social Council.

Those trade unions already holding competence are free from branch of activity thresholds for one collective agreement period, i.e. maximum three years.

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Cases for determination of branch of activity will not affect collective agreement processes

13

Cases related with the determination of branch of activity and the objections related with this process will no longer hinder the processes of collective agreement.

With this amendment, such abuses like misusing the right of objection in the process of competence determination will be prevented.

Therefore, the demand for the determination of branch of activity and objections against this decision will not be regarded as a valid reason for the suspension of determination of competence.

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The transfer of the whole or a part of the workplace14

In order to solve the problems related with the transfer of the whole or a part of the workplaces, some protective measures are foreseen in the new law.

The rights and liabilities arising from the collective agreement in force in the acquired workplace continue to prevail as provision of a contract of employment.

However, the new law indicates that if there is no collective agreement in effect in the workplace or the workplaces of the acquiring employer, the collective agreement of the acquired workplace in effect shall continue to apply until it expires or until a new collective agreement is concluded.

Hence in case of such transfers, the rights of the workers are secured depending on whether a collective agreement in effect in the workplace of the acquiring employer.

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15The definition of “Group Collective Labour Agreement”, which is frequently encountered in practice, is also mentioned and regulated in the new law.

According to this arrangement, a group collective labour agreement can be concluded for the workers employed at the workplaces and enterprises in the same branch of activity belonging to more than one employer.

Group collective labour agreements

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Framework agreements16

Following the discussions and consultations within the spirit of social dialogue and in accordance with the Constitutional Amendment of 2010, “framework agreement”, which was previously not included, has been put into legislation. Thereby, the views of the ILO have also been reflected. As a result of the Constitutional Amendment of 2010, the provision in Article 53 that “More than one collective bargaining agreement at the same place of work for the same period shall not be concluded or put into effect” has been abolished. With this amendment, the constitutional obstacle to conclude a multi-level collective labour agreement is repealed. It is stipulated by the new law that the framework agreements could include regulations that are not related to the wage provisions, such as vocational training, occupational health and safety, social responsibility and employment policies, with the consent of both parties.

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Guarantees for shop stewards17

Guarantees for trade union managers

18

In order to maintain compliance with the ILO Convention No. 135 on Workers’ Representatives, the new law included strengthened protection measures for shop stewards.

In this context, the issues like -just or unjust- termination of employment contracts of the shop stewards, reinstatement of them to their jobs, and effective legal remedy mechanisms are laid down in detail and strengthened.

According to the new law, the employment contracts of workers who are elected to the governing bodies of the trade unions and no longer be able to work at the workplace, are deemed to be suspended rather than being terminated.

Besides, they have the right to terminate their employment contracts on their will without any hindrance to their severance payment rights.

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Transparency of financial transactions 19

According to previous law, administrative and financial audit of the trade unions were to be carried out by internal audit bodies. However, this situation lacked an effective control mechanism since there was no independent auditing system.

In this regard, ILO is not in favour of Government intervention to auditing systems of trade unions and confederations and calls for the regulation of such issues with the statutes of the trade unions. In this context, in order to ensure transparency, independent and impartial auditing of the trade unions is consistent with international norms.

Thus, while the governmental organs are not allowed to interfere with the auditing processes of the trade unions, the annual financial audit for the general assembly period on the incomes and expenses of organisations shall be carried out by certified public accountants in order to ensure the accountability and transparency.

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Representation in the Higher Board of Arbitration 21

The structure of Higher Board of Arbitration, which functions as an important social dialogue mechanism, has been amended in accordance with the tripartite representation approach of the ILO.

The second seat of workers’ confederation in Higher Board of Arbitration will be allocated to the confederation member of which is a part to the dispute, while the first seat is naturally reserved for the most representative confederation.

Protection of Legal Entity of Unions 20

Trade union legal personality will not be affected should the executive members commit crimes; which is also in line with the principle of individuality of crimes and the views of ILO.

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Restrictions on the right to strike are removed 22

Historically, the regulatory framework concerning the right to strike and lockout was highly interventionist and under strict scrutiny . As mentioned above, the Constitutional Amendment of 2010 revised the right to strike and lockout with a liberal outlook.

The decision for going strike, according to new legislation, will be taken with the absolute majority of workers of those voting in present, instead of absolute majority of the workers in the workplace.

The provisions prohibiting activities similar to strike are removed from text of the new law in parallel with the amendments in 2010 which abolished the provision in the Article 54 of the Constitution that goes “Politically motivated strikes and lockouts, solidarity strikes and lockouts, occupation of work premises, labour go-slows, and other forms of obstruction are prohibited”.

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The scope of legal prohibitions on strikes and lockouts are narrowed down

23

The prohibition of strikes and lockouts are removed in the following jobs and workplaces: public notary services, vaccine and serum producers, clinics, sanatoriums, dispensaries and pharmacies (except hospitals), education and schooling institutions, child-care institutions, aviation services and nursing homes.

Governors, on the other hand, shall take necessary measures for the continuation of the services that are essential for the daily life of people in case of possible suspension of them as result of the strikes.

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Damages inflicted by individuals on the workplaces during the strikes are no longer under the responsibility of the trade unions

24

The provision in the Article 54 of the Constitution that “During a strike, the labour union is liable for any material damage caused in a work-place where the strike is being held, as a result of deliberately negligent behaviour by the workers and the labour union” has been removed with the Constitutional Amendment of 2010.

In parallel with this, the responsibility of the damages given to the workplace arising from individual actions during a strike is not considered as trade union’s responsibility according to the provisions of the new law.

However, if the action occurs as a result of an instruction given by the union, the union will be held responsible for the material damage caused in the workplace.

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Restrictions on pickets are removed25

Restrictions on the activities of the pickets charged by the trade unions for a strike are totally removed, including the prohibitions on posting announcement materials such as placards, posters or writings and setting up sheltering materials such as huts, cottages and tents.

It is regulated that strike and lockout pickets shall be entitled to enter and exit from workplaces without restrictions in order to monitor the procedures regarding the strike and lockout.

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Administrative fines replace imprisonment26

The imprisonment provisions in the repealed laws are removed and administrative fines are rather stipulated for the offences related with the breach of the new law.

A certain period of administrative sanctions rather than prison sentences and fines are to be implemented for such offences.

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Law on Trade Unions and Collective Labour Agreements

THE TEXT OF LAW ON TRADE UNIONS AND COLLECTIVE LABOUR AGREEMENTSNo. 6356Date of Enactment: 18/10/2012Effective from: 07/11/2012

PART V

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LAW ON TRADE UNIONS AND COLLECTIVE LABOUR AGREEMENTS

PART I

Purpose and Definitions

Purpose

ARTICLE 1 - The purpose of this Law is to lay down the principles and the procedures on the establishment, management, operation, auditing, activities and organization of workers’ and employers’ unions and confederations, on the conclusion of collective labour agreements in order for workers and employers to mutually determine their economic, social and working conditions, on the settlement of disputes through peaceful means and on strikes and lock-outs.

Definitions

ARTICLE 2 - (1) For the purpose of this Law, the following terms shall have the meanings as follows:

a) Ministry refers to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security,

b) Framework agreement refers to the agreement at the level of the branch of activity concluded between workers’ and employers’ unions which are members of workers’ and employers’ confederations represented in the Economic and Social Council.

c) Competent authority refers ; for the “establishment level” collective agreement, to the Provincial Directorate of Labor and Employment Agency where the establishments is located; for the “enterprise level” collective agreement, to the Provincial Directorate of Labor and Employment Agency where the center of the enterprise is located; and for the

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“group collective agreement” involving establishments which fall into the jurisdiction of the same Provincial Labor and Employment Agency, to the Provincial Directorate of Labor and Employment Agency with which the said establishments are associated; and for the group collective agreement which falls into the jurisdiction of more than one, to the Ministry.

ç) Group collective labour agreement refers to collective labour agreement concluded between a workers’ and an employers’ union which covers the workplaces and the enterprises in the same branch of activity belonging to more than one employer.

d) Enterprise collective labour agreement refers to the agreement which covers more than one workplace in the same branch of activity belonging to a legal or natural person or a public institution.

e) Employer’s representative refers to the persons authorized to manage an entire enterprise in the name of the employer.

f) Confederation refers to the organizations having legal personality established by the association of at least five unions operating in different branches of activity.

g) Organization refers to workers’ and employers’ unions and confederations.

ğ) Union refers to the organizations having legal personality to carry out activities in a branch of activity formed by the association of at least seven workers or employers in order to protect and promote their common economic and social rights and interests in labour relations.

h) Collective labour agreement refers to the agreement concluded between a workers’ trade union and an

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employers’ union, or an employer who is not a member of any union, in order to regulate the matters with regard to the conclusion, content and termination of the employment contracts.

ı) Higher organisation refers to the confederations.

i) Union official refers to the executive board members of the organization and its branch.

(2) Employer’s representatives shall be considered as employers for the purposes of the implementation of this Law.

(3) The concepts of worker, employer and workplace for the purposes of the implementation of this Law are as defined in the Labour Law, No 4857 and dated 22/5/2003.

(4) A natural person who carries out his professional activities independently for a fee, apart from a labour contract and in accordancewith a transport contract, work contract, attorney agreement, brokerage contract, publishing contract, commission contract and ordinary partnership contract shall also be considered as workers within the meaning of the parts 2,3,4,5 and 6 of this Law.

PART TWO

Principles of Establishment and Organs

Freedom of establishment

ARTICLE 3 - (1) Organizations shall be established without prior authorisation in compliance with the procedures and principles of establishment in this Law. Unions shall carry out their activities in the branch of activity of their establishment.

(2) The provision of being in the same branch of activity to establish a union does not apply for public sector’s employers.

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Branches of activity

ARTICLE 4 - (1) The branches of activity are listed in the Table No. 1 annexed to this Law.

(2) Auxiliary activities along with the main activity carried out in a workplace are deemed to fall into the main branch of activity.

(3) The classification of all the works under a branch of activity shall be laid down by the Ministry in a by-law, taking account of international standards and the opinions of workers’ and employers’ confederations.

Determination of the branch of activity

ARTICLE 5 - (1) The branch of activity in which a workplace will be included shall be determined by the Ministry. The decision of the Ministry shall be published in the Official Gazette. The interested parties may file suit against the decision to the local court having jurisdiction in labour matters within 15 days of the publication.

The court shall give its decision within two months. Where this ruling is appealed, a final ruling shall be given by the Court of Cassation within two months.

(2) If the authorisation process for a new collective labour agreement has begun, the determination of the branch of activity shall prevail for the next period. Requests for the determination of the branch of activity and cases brought to court on the basis of these requests shall not be regarded as reasons to delay authorisation procedures and authorisation determination cases.

(3) The change of the branch of activity shall not have an effect on the valid collective labour agreement.

Requirements for founding members

ARTICLE 6 - (1) Natural or legal persons who have the capacity

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to act and who work de facto shall be entitled to establish a trade union. However, even if the periods specified in Article 53 of the Turkish Penal Code of 26th September 2004, No. 5237 have expired, those who have been found guilty of a felony such as embezzlement, corruption, bribery, theft, fraud, forgery, obtaining by false pretences, fraudulent bankruptcy, bid rigging, fraud in fulfilment of obligations, laundering assets derived from criminal offences or smuggling shall not be entitled to establish a trade union.

(2) Where the founding member of an employers’ trade union is a legal person, the natural person who is a representative of the legal person should have the qualifications specified in the first paragraph above.

Procedure for establishment

ARTICLE 7 – (1) The organisations shall acquire legal personality as soon as the statute of the organisation attached to a petition has been submitted to the Governorate of the province of their headquarters. For unions, written declarations of founding members indicating that they meet the requirements to be founders and for higher organisations, the decisions taken by the general assembly of the respective organisations shall be annexed to the petition.

(2) The Governor shall forward the statute and the list of founding members to the Ministry within fifteen days. The Ministry shall announce the name, headquarters and the statute of the organisation on its official website within fifteen days.

(3) If the statutes or the information contained in the documents referred to in this Article are determined to be in conflict with the law or the requirements of establishment set forth in this Law, the relevant Governor shall request the remedy of the deficiencies within one month. In case deficiencies are not remedied within that period and the situation contrary to law continues, the Ministry or the Governor shall apply to the local court having jurisdiction in labour matters

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which may decide within three working days to stop the activities of the organisation after taking opinions of the founding members. The court shall grant an extension for the remedy of deficiencies and illegality for not more than sixty days.

(4) After the statute and documents are made to be in compliance with the law, the court shall revoke the decision of suspension. In case the statute and documents are not made to be in compliance with the law within the extension period, the court shall decide to dissolve the organisation.

(5) The amendments to the statutes shall be published in accordance with the second paragraph. These abovementioned provisions shall also apply in cases where the statute is amended, and the deficiencies in procedures and other situations in conflict with the law occur.

Statute of the organisations

ARTICLE 8 - (1) The following shall be included in the statutes of the organisations:

a) The name, headquarters and address of the organisation,

b) The aim of the organization,

c) The branch of activity in which the union will function,

ç) Full names, identity information, profession and craft and place of residence of the founders of the trade union; branches of activity, names and addresses of the unions forming the higher organizations,

d) The conditions for the acquisition of membership, the withdrawal and expulsion from the membership,

e) The composition and meeting dates as well as the functions and powers, the voting and decision-making procedure and quorum of the general assembly.

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f) The organs apart from the general assembly, their compositions, their functions, powers and responsibilities, their procedures and principles of work as well as quorum for meeting and decision taking.

g) Procedures and principles for the formation, merger and closure of branches or regional branches, their functions and powers, procedures and principles of general assembly meetings and decisions, representation way of union and regional branches at the general assembly of the union,

ğ) The procedures and principles for membership dues and salaries of the union officials,

h) Procedures and principles to be applied during the sale and cancellation of fixtures,

ı) The internal audit procedures of the organisation,

i) The provisions for the amendment of the statute,

j) Liquidation of the assets in case the organisation is dissolved,

k) Full names and places of residence of the members of the provisional executive board members authorised to represent and administer the organisation until its organs are duly formed.

General provisions concerning the organs

ARTICLE 9 - (1) The organs of the organization and its branches are the general assembly, the administrative board, the board of auditors and the disciplinary board. The number of the administrative board members apart from those in the general assembly shall not be less than three or more than nine; the number of the administrative board members of the confederations shall not be less than five or more than twenty-two; and the number of the board members of the branches apart from those in the general assembly shall not be

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less than three or more than five. An equal number of substitute members with that of the members shall be elected to the organs, with the exception of the general assembly.

(2) The organisations may set up other organs as they need. However, the functions and powers of the general assembly, the administrative board, the board of auditors and the disciplinary board shall not be transferred to these organs.

(3) The conditions required in Article 6 should be fulfilled in order to be eligible for the organs other than general assembly of the organisations. The court shall remove a person from such office upon the application of Governorship or the Ministry which finds out that a person not fulfilling these conditions was assigned to an office. The decision of the Court shall be final.

(4) The full names of the members elected to the organs other than the general assembly and the opening or closing of branches shall be communicated to the relevant governors of provinces and be announced in accordance with the second paragraph of Article 7.

(5) The functions of the members elected to the organs other than the general assembly shall automatically terminate if they are sentenced under any of the offences specified in Article 6.

(6) In the event that the executives of the organization or its branch are elected as a member of parliament or a mayor, their service shall automatically terminate.

(7) Unless a higher quorum is specified in the statute, the quorum for meeting of the organs apart from the general assembly shall be the absolute majority of the board members and the quorum for decision making shall be the absolute majority of the participants to the meeting.

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Composition of the general assembly

ARTICLE 10 - (1) The general assembly of the organisations shall be composed of its members or delegates, in accordance with their statutes. The members of the executive board, the board of auditors and the disciplinary board of the organisations and branches shall be ex officio delegates to the general assembly of their respective organizations.

(2) The credentials of the delegates shall be valid until the date of election for the delegates to the next ordinary general assembly.

(3) The procedures and the principles for the election of the delegates shall be defined by the statute of the organization. However, the statutes shall not have any restrictive provisions concerning the election of the delegates.

Functions and powers of the general assembly

ARTICLE 11 - (1) The functions and the powers of the general assembly are as follows:

a) Elections of the organs,

b) Amendments to the statute,

c) Competence of the executive board to deal with the issues which are considered illegal and demanded to be adjusted by the relevant authorities or the court provided that the issue is addressed in the first general assembly and is not applied retrospectively.

ç) Examination of the reports submitted by the executive board and the board of auditors as well as the reports submitted by the certified public accountants,

d) Absolution of the executive board and the board of auditors,

e) Approval of the budget,

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f) Determination of the salaries, compensation, allowances and travel pay to be paid to the members of the executive board, the board of auditors and disciplinary board and their social rights,

g) Competence of the executive board to acquire or dispose of any immovable property,

ğ) To be the founding member of a higher organization, acquisition of its membership and withdrawal from the membership,

h) To open, merge or close down the branches or to authorize the executive board in this regard,

ı) To merge or join,

i) To be the founding member of an international organization, acquisition of its membership and withdrawal from the membership,

j) To dissolve the organization,

k) To execute other activities entrusted to the general assembly by the statute or in legislation; to decide on matters which are not entrusted to other organs,

(2) The general assembly of branches shall have jurisdiction only on items (a), (ç), (d) and (k). The general assembly of branches shall not have power on financial absolution.

Meeting dates of the general assembly

ARTICLE 12 - (1) The first general assembly of the organisations shall meet within six months of the date on which it acquires legal personality and the first general assembly of the branches shall meet within six months following the date of establishment.

(2) The ordinary general assembly shall meet once in every four years at the latest.

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(3) The activity and financial reports, reports of the board of auditors and the reports of the certified public accountant covering the period between two general assembly meeting and draft budget proposals for the next period, shall be forwarded to the participants of the assembly fifteen days prior to the meeting date of the general assembly.

(4) The extraordinary general assembly shall meet within sixty days when deemed necessary by the executive board or the board of auditors or upon the written requests by one fifth of the members of the general assembly or the delegates in order to address primarily the issues specified in their written requests. Where there is less than six months at the time of the submission until the convening date of the ordinary general assembly, an extraordinary general assembly shall not be held; however the issues in the submission shall be included in the agenda of the ordinary general assembly.

(5) Call for the convening of the meetings of the general assembly shall be made by the executive board.

(6) The administrative board of the organization or branch that has violated the above provisions shall be removed from office by the decision of the court following the application of a member or the Ministry which has ascertained the said violation. Moreover, the Court shall appoint one or three trustees in the manner pursuant to the provisions of the Civil Code of 22th November 2001, No.4721, in order to convene the general assembly in the shortest time and manage the organization until a new executive board has been formed in accordance with the provisions of the law and the statutes.

Quorum of the general assembly for meetings and decisions

ARTICLE 13 - (1) The absolute majority of the total number of the members or the delegates shall be required to constitute a quorum at the general assembly meetings. A higher quorum may be provided for by the statute. Where the quorum is not met in the first

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meeting, the second meeting may be held fifteen days later at the latest. The number of participants to this meeting shall not be less than one-third of the total number of the members or delegates.

(2) The participation and voting of members or delegates in the general assembly meetings shall not be obstructed.

(3) The quorum of decision making for the general assembly is the absolute majority of the present members of delegates. However, the required quorum shall not be less than one-fourth of the total number of members or delegates. In case a higher quorum is not provided for in the statute, the absolute majority vote of the total number of the members or delegates shall be required to take a decision in statute amendments, dissolution, joining, merge, and in establishment of higher organizations or international organizations and joining and withdrawing from them.

Electoral procedures of the general assembly

ARTICLE 14 - (1) The delegates of the general assembly and the members of the executive board, board of auditors and disciplinary board shall be elected under the supervision of the judiciary in accordance with the principles of a free, equal and secret vote, public counting and open returns of the votes and with the provisions of the statute.

(2) The list containing the names of the members or delegates and a document indicating the agenda, place, date, and time of the general assembly meeting and the details of the second meeting in case the necessary quorum is not reached shall be forwarded to the competent electoral board at least 15 days prior to the date of the meeting of the general assembly.

(3) The judge shall examine and approve the lists of members or delegates to participate and to vote in the elections and forward a copy to the relevant organisations or branches to be announced. The

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relevant organisation shall announce the approved list on the notice board of the organisation or its branch seven days before the date of the general assembly meeting. The announcement period shall be three days.

(4) Any objection within the period of announcement shall be examined by the electoral board within two days and a final decision shall be reached. Final list and the other matters related to the general assembly meeting thus finalised shall be communicated by the Judge to the organisation or branch concerned.

(5) The Electoral Board shall form an electoral polls committee by appointing a chairman from amongst persons unaffiliated with the organization and by designating two members who are not candidates in elections. The substitute chairman of the election committee and its members shall also be selected in the same manner. The election committee shall be responsible for carrying out the elections and counting votes.

(6) The chairmanship shall prepare the voting papers containing the names of the candidates and submit these to the electoral board to be stamped.

(7) Any person included in the list shall have the right to vote after providing an official ID card and signing of the list. The chairman of the election committee shall provide with the voting paper containing the official seal of the electoral board and the names of the candidates and the vote shall be cast by putting a mark next to the names. Any vote having more candidates marked than the required number of seats of the organs and votes written on some other paper shall be void.

(8) The result of the election shall be recorded in a report by the election committee and one copy of the report shall be posted at the place of the election.

(9) A copy of the report shall be transmitted to the electoral board together with the votes and other documents, to be retained

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for three months. The results of the elections shall immediately be announced by the board and be communicated to the relevant organization or its branches.

(10) The same penal provisions for offences against civil servants shall apply to any offence against the chairman and the members of an election committee during the elections.

(11) The relevant organization shall pay the salaries of the members of the electoral board and the election committee assigned in the elections, as provided in the Law No. 298 and dated 26/4/1961 on the Fundamental Principles of Elections and Records.

Objection to elections

ARTICLE 15 - (1) A judge shall evaluate the objections to the results of the elections within two days following the preparation of the reports on the proceedings during the elections of the organs held in the general assembly and give a final decision about the issue on the same day. Immediately after the period for an objection has expired and a final decision has been given, the judge shall announce the final results and communicate them to the relevant organization or the branch in accordance with Article 14.

(2) Within 30 days of the meeting of the general assembly, the Ministry or the members or delegates of the organisation or its branch may bring a case to the court with the allegation that the meeting of the general assembly or the elections have been held contrary to the provisions of the law or the statute; or that there has been an irregularity or unlawful practice having an effect on the outcome of the elections. The court shall apply fast-hearing procedures and decide within two months. In case the decision is appealed, the Court of Cassation shall give a final decision within fifteen days.

(3) Where the Court decides to annul the election of the general assembly or the elections of the organs held in the general

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assembly, it shall appoint one or three trustees in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code in order to convene the general assembly in the shortest time, carry out the elections and manage the relevant organization until a new executive board has been formed pursuant to the provisions of the law and the statutes.

Election of delegates in the organs other than general assembly

ARTICLE 16 - (1) The delegates of the organs other than the general board shall be elected by the members in accordance with the principles of free, equal, secret vote, public counting and open returns of the votes and with the provisions of the union’s statute.

(2) A final decision shall be given within two days after the announcement of the results by the court to any objection against the election of the delegates in organs other than the general assembly. The elections shall be repeated in 15 days in cases where the election for the delegates is annulled by the court.

PART THREE

Membership

Trade union membership and acquisition of membership

ARTICLE 17 - (1) Any person who completes 15 years of age and who is considered as a worker in accordance with the provisions of this Law may join a workers’ trade union.

(2) Any person who is considered as an employer within the meaning of this Law may join an employers’ union.

(3) Membership to unions is free. No one shall be forced to be

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a member or not to be a member of a union. No worker or employer shall be a member of more than one union in the same branch of activity and at the same time. However, workers who are employed in the same branch of activity but in the workplaces of different employers may be a member of more than one union. Where a worker or an employer is a member of more than one union as a violation to this provision, their subsequent membership shall be void.

(4) The workers employed in auxiliary works may join the trade union established in the branch of activity covering that workplace.

(5) Trade union membership shall be acquired via e-State, provided that an application for a membership has been filed on the electronic application system of the Ministry via e- State and the authorized organ specified in the statute of the union has approved. The application for membership shall be considered approved if it is not refused by the trade union within 30 days. Any worker whose application is refused without a valid reason shall have the right to apply to the local court having jurisdiction in labour matters within 30 days of receipt of the notification. The decision of the court shall be final. Where the court decides in favour of the petitioner, membership shall be considered acquired on the date the decision of the court has become final.

Membership dues

ARTICLE 18 - (1) The amount of the membership dues shall be fixed by the general board in accordance with the procedures and principles identified in their statutes.

(2) Membership and solidarity dues shall be deducted from the wage of the worker and shall be paid to the relevant trade union upon the written request of the competent workers’ trade union to the employer.

(3) The employer who does not deduct the dues that have to

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be paid in accordance with the above provisions or who does not pay them to the related workers’ trade union within one month although he has made the deduction, shall be obliged to pay the amount of dues together with highest interest rate applied to working capital loan by banks, without a requirement for notification.

(4) The procedures and principles regarding the collection of membership dues shall be laid down in a by-law to be issued by the Ministry.

Termination and suspension of membership

ARTICLE 19 - (1) No worker or employer shall be forced to remain in or withdraw from union membership.

(2) Any member may resign from membership in a union by an application via e-State. The notification for resignation carried out by e-State shall reach the Ministry and the union at the same time.

(3) The resignation shall be effective one month after the date of notification to the union. In the case of acquisition of membership in another union during the period of one month, the new membership shall be considered valid as of the date of the end of this period.

(4) The decision of expulsion of any member from a union shall be taken by the general assembly. The decision shall be communicated in the electronic environment to the Ministry by e-State and in written to the expelled member. Within 30 days following the notification of the decision, the member concerned may appeal against the said decision to the court. The court shall take a final decision within two months. Membership shall continue until the decision of expulsion is final.

(5) Any person who loses his status as an employer or an employer’s representative shall automatically lose membership and any function in an employers’ union or a higher organisation effective on the date of losing such status. However, the membership of a legal personality in an employers’ union shall continue even if the

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representative of this entity loses his status. In that case, any function of such representatives in the organs of the union or confederation shall terminate.

(6) Any worker who leaves employment to receive retirement or disability benefits or lump-sum payments from the Social Security Institution shall lose his membership. However, membership of persons who continue to work and membership of union officials who receive retirement or disability benefits or lump-sum payments during their terms of office in the executive board, board of auditors and disciplinary boards of the institution or its branch shall continue as long as their terms of office last and are renewed.

(7) Union membership of the person who changes his branch of activity shall automatically terminate.

(8) Taking office in the organs of the organizations and its branches shall not terminate membership.

(9) The unemployment of the member of the workers’ trade union shall not affect his membership, provided that this does not exceed one year.

(10) The membership of the worker who is conscripted due to military service shall remain suspended during such service.

(11) The procedure and principles regarding the acquisition and termination of membership shall be laid down by a by-law to be issued by the Ministry.

Affiliation to higher organizations

ARTICLE 20 - (1) Affiliation to a higher organization shall be conditional upon the decision of the general assembly. Affiliation to a higher organisation shall be acquired by the approval of the competent organ identified in the statute. Unions shall not be affiliated to more than one higher organisation. Otherwise, the subsequent memberships shall be void.

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(2) Withdrawal from the membership of a higher organisation shall be conditional upon the decision of the general assembly of the union. Withdrawal shall be valid one month after the date of notification to the higher organisation.

(3) Expulsion from membership shall be conditional upon the decision of the general assembly of the higher organisation.

(4) The decisions of affiliation, withdrawal and expulsion shall be communicated to the Ministry by the higher organisation within one month.

Affiliation to international workers’ and employers’ organisations

ARTICLE 21 - (1) In order to realise the objectives identified in their statutes, organizations may establish, freely affiliate to, withdraw from, cooperate with, send or receive members or representatives to international workers’ and employers’ organisations and may open foreign representative offices.

(2) International workers’ and employers’ organisations may, with the approval of the Ministry of Interior after taking into account the opinion of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, open a representative office in Turkey and may become members of higher organisations.

(3) In the event of the violation of the above-mentioned paragraphs, the Ministry of Interior may apply to the competent labour court of the place where headquarter of the organization or its representative office is located, to have the membership cancelled or the activities of the representative office stopped or to have it closed.

(4) The workers’ and employers’ organisations in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus may become members of the higher organizations established in Turkey.

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Joining or merging of the organizations

ARTICLE 22 - (1) In the event of joining an organization, all the rights, obligations, competences and interests of the joining organisations shall be transferred automatically to the organization which they join.

(2) In the event of merging of organizations, all the rights, obligations, competences and interests of the organisations shall automatically be transferred to the new legal personality constituted as a result of the merger.

(3) Members of the organizations which join or merge shall become members of the organizations which they have joined, or which they established by the merger, without any other procedures.

(4) The organisation acceded to or the new organisation established shall communicate this situation to the Ministry within one month.

PART FOUR

Protection

Protection of workers’ trade union management

ARTICLE 23 - (1) Where a union official leaves his workplace on account of being assigned as a union official in the workers’ organization, his contract of employment shall remain suspended. If the union official wishes, he may terminate the contract of employment on the date he leaves his workplace without complying with the notification period or without waiting for the expiry of the contract and shall be entitled to receive severance payment. If the union official terminates the contract of employment during his term of office, the severance payment shall be calculated according to equivalent wage of his peers at time of the termination of the contract.

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(2) The union official whose contract of employment is suspended may apply to the employer to be reinstated within one month after the termination date of his office if his office ends for the reasons of the termination of the legal personality of the trade union, or the officials’ voluntary resignation, not being re-elected or not participating in elections. The employer shall be bound to reinstate him in his employment within one month as from the date on which he requests such reinstatement under the existing working conditions, in his previous post or in a post appropriate to his previous one. In the event that the person is not reinstated within the defined periods, his contract of employment shall be considered as terminated by the employer.

(3) Union officials whose term of office ends for reasons other than those stipulated above shall be paid severance payment by the employer upon their application. While calculating the compensations, the employment periods in the workplace shall be taken into consideration and the wage and other rights that are valid for the peers at the time of termination shall be taken into account. The worker shall retain all the rights conferred on him by the labour legislation.

Protection of shop stewards

ARTICLE 24 - (1) An employer shall not terminate the employment contract of shop stewards unless there is a just cause for termination and he indicates this clearly and precisely. The shop steward or the trade union of which he is a member shall have the right to apply to the competent court within one month of the date when the notice of termination is communicated to him.

(2) The court shall apply fast-hearing procedures. In the event of an appeal of the decision given by the court, the decision of the Court of Cassation shall be final.

(3) If the court decides that the trade union representative is

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to be reinstated in his employment, the termination shall be annulled and the employer shall pay his full wages and all other benefits between the termination and final decision date. On the condition that the trade union representative applies within six working days following the final decision of reinstatement, and in the event that he is not reinstated within six working days, his wage and other benefits shall continue to be paid by taking into account that his employment relation is still continuing. This provision shall likewise apply in the case of a new appointment as shop steward.

(4) Unless there is a written consent of the shop steward, the employer shall not change the workplace of the shop steward or shall not make a drastic change in his work. Otherwise, the change shall be considered as void.

(5) Union officials who continue to work in the workplace shall also benefit from the provisions of this Article.

Guarantee of union freedoms

ARTICLE 25 - (1) The recruitment of workers shall not be made subject to any condition as to their joining or refraining from joining a given trade union, their remaining a member of or withdrawing from a given trade union or their membership or non-membership of a trade union.

(2) The employer shall not discriminate between workers who are members of a trade union and those who are not, or those who are members of another trade union, with respect to working conditions or termination of employment. The provisions of the collective labour agreement with respect to wages, bonuses, premiums and money-related social benefits shall be exceptions.

(3) No worker shall be dismissed or discriminated against on account of his membership or non-membership in a trade union, his participation in the activities of trade unions or workers’ organisations

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outside his hours of work or during hours of work with the employer’s permission.

(4) If an employer fails to observe the provisions set out in the above paragraphs apart from the termination, he shall be liable to pay union compensation which shall not be less than the worker’s annual wage.

(5) In case of termination of contract of employment for reasons of trade union activities, a worker shall have the right to apply to the court as provided in the Articles 18, 20 and 21 of Labour Law No. 4857. Where it has been determined that the contract of employment has been terminated for reasons of trade union activities, union compensation shall be ordered independent of the requirement of application of the worker and the employer’s granting or refusing him permission to restart work in accordance with Article 21 of the Law No. 4857. However, in case the worker is not allowed to start work, the compensation specified in the first paragraph of Article 21 of this Law No. 4857 shall not apply. Non-application to a court pursuant to the aforementioned provisions of the Law No. 4857 shall not be an obstacle for the worker to claim union compensation separately.

(6) In a case brought to the court with the claim that contract of employment has been terminated because of trade union affiliation, the burden of proof to prove the reason for termination shall lie with the employer. A worker who claims that termination is not based on the reason the employer has claimed shall bear the burden of proof to prove that the reason for termination has been union affiliation.

(7) Except for termination, in the event of a claim that the employer discriminates because of union affiliation, the burden of proof shall be on the worker. However, if a worker shows the existence of a situation indicating strongly that discrimination has been made because of union affiliation, the employer shall be obliged to prove the reasons for his conduct.

(8) Any provision contained in the collective labour agreement and in the contract of employment which is contrary to the provisions set out above shall be void.

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(9) The worker shall retain all the rights conferred on him by the labour legislation and other enactments.

PART FIVE

Activities

Activities of the organizations

ARTICLE 26 - (1) Organizations shall engage freely in activities which are contained in their statutes.

(2) Organisations shall have the capacity to act as plaintiff or defendant in matters arising out of working life, legislation, custom and usage, acting as representative of the workers and employers; and trade unions shall, at the written request of the person concerned, have the capacity to act as plaintiff or defendant in legal actions concerning rights under contract of employment and employment relationship and pertaining social security rights, acting as representative of their own members and the latters’ heirs. The termination of membership during the judicial proceeding shall not affect this capacity, provided that the member gives written approval.

(3) Organisations shall be obliged to observe the principle of equality and prohibitions of discrimination among its members in their enjoyment of its activities. Organizations shall consider the gender equality in their activities.

(4) The extension of the rights and benefits that organization provides for its members through its activities to those who are not members shall be dependent upon its written approval, without prejudice to the provisions of part seven and part twelve of this law.

(5) Organisations shall not engage in any activity outside their objectives laid down in their statutes.

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(6) Workers and workers’ organisations shall not be members of employers’ organisations; employers’ organisations shall likewise not be members of workers’ organisations. These organisations shall not intervene, either directly or by means of representatives or members or through any other intermediate person, in the establishment, administration or activity of one another.

(7) Organisations shall not use the names, emblems, symbols or signs of political parties.

(8) Organisations shall not engage in any commercial activity. However, organisation may invest in industrial and commercial organisations with the decision of the general assembly, provided that this investment does not exceed forty percent of the available cash.

(9) Organizations shall not distribute any of their revenues among their members. This provision shall not apply to any strike and lock-out benefits and training benefits paid to their members as provided in their statutes.

Appointment of shop stewards and their functions

ARTICLE 27 - (1) A trade union, whose competence to conclude collective labour agreement is certified, shall appoint shop stewards among its members at the workplace in the following manner, and shall provide the names of such union representatives to the employer within 15 days: one shop steward, if the number of workers in the workplace does not exceed 50; not more than two, if the number of workers is between 51 and 100; not more than three, if the number of workers is between 101 and 500; not more than four, if the number of workers is between 501 and 1,000; not more than six, if the number of workers is between 1,001 and 2,000; and, not more than eight, if the number of workers exceeds 2,000. One of the above may be designated as chief representative. The tenure of shop stewards appointed by the competent trade union shall continue as long as the competence of the trade union is valid.

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(2) If there is a provision in the trade union statute which provides for designation of shop stewards through election, the designated member shall be appointed as the shop steward.

(3) The duties of shop steward and chief representative, on condition that they are limited only to the workplace, shall be: to hear workers’ requests and handle their grievances; to maintain cooperation, harmony at work and peaceful relations between workers and employers; to protect the rights and interests of the workers; to assist in the application of working conditions provided for in labour legislation and collective labour agreements.

(4) Shop stewards shall perform their duties on condition that their own work and the work discipline at the workplace are not hindered. Shop stewards shall be provided with appropriates means to carry out their duties in the workplace quickly and efficiently.

PART SIX

The Revenues, Auditing and Dissolution of the Organizations

Revenues and expenses of the organizations

ARTICLE 28 - (1) The revenues of the organizations shall be composed of;

a) Members’ dues and solidarity dues in accordance with their statutes,

b) Revenues from their activities in accordance with their statutes,

c) Donations,

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ç) Revenues from their assets, yields from transfer, assignment and sale of the asset values.

(2) Organizations shall not receive any aid or donations from political parties, from public institutions and organizations, from organisations of small businessmen and artisans, professional associations having the nature of public institutions.

(3) Workers’ organisations shall not accept any aid or donations from employers and employers’ organisations established by virtue of this Law and other enactments; employers’ organisations shall likewise not accept any aid or donations from workers and workers’ organisations established by virtue of this Law and other enactments. Organisations may receive aid in cash or in kind from people, agencies and institutions abroad on condition that they give the Ministry prior notice. However, workers’ organizations shall not accept any aid or donations from employers and employers’ organizations abroad, employers’ organisations shall likewise not accept any aid or donations from workers and workers’ organisations abroad. Aid and donations in cash shall be received through the banks.

(4) Where aid and donations have been received in violation of the provisions set out above, upon the request of one of the members or the Ministry and pursuant to the decision of the local court having jurisdiction in labour matters, the aid received shall be transferred to the State Treasury.

(5) Organizations shall deposit all their cash revenues in banks. The general assembly shall fix the amount of petty cash which they may retain to meet the compulsory expenses.

(6) Organisations shall not spend or donate their revenues beyond the activities set out in this Law and their statutes.

(7) Organizations may aid in kind or in cash to public institutions or organizations with the aim of establishing houses, training and health facilities in the natural disaster areas at home and abroad, through authorities or directly by themselves, on the condition that this is determined with the decision of the executive board and that

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the amount is not higher than the 10% of the current cash on hand.

Auditing of the organizations and transparency

ARTICLE 29 - (1) The audit of organisations shall be performed by board of auditors in accordance with law and the provisions of the statutes of the organisations. During the audit, the compliance of administration and operations, incomes, expenses and balance sheets along with the relevant operations, with law, the statute and the decision of the general assembly shall be examined.

(2) Financial auditing of organizations in regard to their revenues and expenditures shall be performed by certified financial consultants competent in accordance with the Independent Accountants, Financial Auditing and Consultancy Law of 1 June 1989, No. 3568 every two years at the latest. The auditing does not abrogate the liability of the organization’s auditing board.

(3) Organisations shall immediately publish the reports of their activities, external audit and board of auditors, and decisions of the general assembly by appropriate means.

(4) Founders and executive officers of the organizations and their branches must submit declaration of personal assets of themselves, their spouses and children in their guardianship in accordance with the Law on the Declaration of Assets, and the Fight against Bribery and Corruption of 19 April 1990, No. 3628 and the adjoining regulations.

(5) Principles on internal and external auditing shall be regulated in a by-law to be prepared by the Ministry, after having obtained the opinions of workers’ and employers’ confederations.

Books and registers to be kept

ARTICLE 30 - (1) Organizations must keep the following books and registers.

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a) Membership and termination of membership lists,

b) Decision books of the general assembly, administrative board, board of auditors and the disciplinary board,

c) Incoming and out-going document books and custody books,

ç) Union due registers, daily wage and inventory books and general ledgers,

d) Income receipts and registers.

(2) All items and materials shall be registered in the book for movable stocks in accordance with the Law on Tax Procedures of 4 January 1961, No. 213.

(3) The lists of memberships and termination of memberships and books, files and registers that organisations must keep and the principles and procedures on how these are to be kept shall be regulated through a by-law to be issued by the Ministry.

Dissolution

ARTICLE 31 - (1) The organisations which engage in activities contravening to the principles of the Republic enshrined in the Constitution and the democratic principles shall be dissolved by a Court decision, upon the request of the Chief Public Prosecutor of the Republic of the place where their headquarters are located. Where the acts of violation are committed individually by union officials, the court shall decide to remove only those union officials from office.

(2) In conjunction with the lawsuits filed in relation to the subsection above, competent courts may, upon request or ex-officio, decide to suspend the activities of the organisations and the temporary removal of union officials from office at any time of the judicial proceedings.

(3) In cases of suspension of the activities under the provisions above or others stipulated in this Law, the administration of the property of organisations and the protection of interests and the

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convening of a general assembly to resume activities at the end of the period of suspension shall be ensured by one or three trustees to be appointed pursuant to the provisions of the Law No. 4721.

Transfer of assets in the event of dissolution

ARTICLE 32 - (1) If there is such a provision in their statutes, the assets of a trade union whose corporate legal status is to expire may be transferred to another organisation of the same nature established under this Law or to the higher organisation of which it is a member, or if it is not a member of any higher organisation, to another higher organisation of the same nature. In the event of dissolution of the higher organisation, its assets may be transferred to organisations which are its members. If there is no such provision in the statute, the general assembly which has decided the dissolution may transfer the assets in line with the provisions set out above.

(2) In the event of lack of any provision in the statute or in the event of dissolution, if there is no decision taken by the general assembly or the transfer is not accepted by the related organisation, cash assets left after the dissolution shall be transferred to the Unemployment Insurance Fund and fixed assets shall be transferred to the Turkish Employment Agency.

PART SEVEN

General Principles of Collective Labour Agreements

Content of Collective Labour Agreement and Framework Agreement

ARTICLE 33 - (1) A collective labour agreement shall contain provisions on the conclusion, content and expiration of a contract of employment.

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(2) Collective labour agreements may also contain other stipulations as to the mutual rights and obligations of the parties, application and supervision of the agreement and the means to be resorted for the settlement of disputes.

(3) A Framework agreement shall apply to members of workers’ and employers’ confederations which are parties to this agreement and may cover the arrangements concerning vocational training, health and safety at work, social responsibility and employment policies.

(4) A Framework agreement shall be concluded, upon the invitation of one of the parties and the acceptance of other, for a duration of one year minimum and three years maximum.

(5) Collective labour agreements and framework agreements shall not include arrangements contrary to the Constitution and the binding provisions of the laws.

Scope and level of the collective labour agreement

ARTICLE 34 - (1) A collective labour agreement may cover one or more workplaces within the same branch of activity.

(2) In cases where there are more than one establishment belonging to a real person or corporate body or to a public institution or organization in the same industry branch, the collective labour agreement may only be concluded at the enterprise level.

(3) A group collective labour agreement is concluded between a workers’ and an employers’ union to cover the workplaces and enterprises in the same branch of activity belonging to more than one employer.

(4) Any dispute concerning the conditions required for workplaces for which enterprise level collective agreement is to be concluded shall be decided within 15 days by the competent courts

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where the headquarters of enterprise is located. In the event of an appeal, the Court of Cassation shall give a final decision within 15 days.

Form and duration of a collective labour agreement

ARTICLE 35 - (1) A collective labour agreement shall be done in written.

(2) A collective labour agreement shall be concluded for a period of not less than one year and not more than three years. After the conclusion of a collective labour agreement, the parties shall not extend or reduce the duration of the agreement or terminate it before the expiration date.

(3) In activities which last less than one year, the duration of the collective agreement may be shorter than one year. If the work is not completed, such an agreement shall be in force till the end of the one-year period.

(4) The authorization procedure for a new collective labour agreement may begin within the 120 days before the expiration of a collective labour agreement. The new collective labour agreement shall not enter into force before the expiry of the previous agreement.

Effects of a collective labour agreement

ARTICLE 36 - (1) Save as otherwise provided in a collective labour agreement, a contract of employment shall not be contrary to that agreement. The provisions of the contract of employment that are contrary to a collective labour agreement shall be replaced by the provisions of that collective labour agreement. The provisions of a contract of employment that operates to the worker’s advantage shall apply in cases where the collective labour agreement is contrary to such contract.

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(2) The provisions of a collective labour agreement that has expired and that are related to contracts of employment shall continue to be binding in the form of a contract of employment until a new collective agreement enters into force.

Change in the status of the parties

ARTICLE 37 – (1) A collective labour agreement shall not cease to have effect because the union which is a party to the agreement loses its legal personality, is barred from activity, or has lost its competence, or because there is a change of employer or branch of activity in the workplaces to which the agreement applies.

(2) Any employer who is a member of an employers’ union at the date to which the invitation to collective bargaining was issued shall remain bound by the invitation if his membership in the union ends.

(3) Any employer who is a member of an employers’ union which is a party to a collective labour agreement at the date of signature shall remain bound by its provisions, even if he subsequently severs his relations with the union.

Transfer of a workplace or a part of the workplace

ARTICLE 38 - (1) When a workplace or a part of the workplace within the scope of an enterprise collective labour agreement is transferred, even if a collective labour agreement is in effect in the workplace or workplaces of the acquiring employer which are in the same branch of activity, the rights and liabilities arising from the collective labour agreement implemented in the acquired workplace continue to prevail as provisions of a contract of employment. If there is no collective labour agreement in effect in the workplace or workplaces of the acquiring employer, the collective labour agreement of the acquired workplace in effect shall continue to apply until it expires or until a new collective labour agreement is concluded.

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(2) In the transfer of an establishment not covered by any collective agreement to an employer who is the signatory party to an enterprise level collective agreement, the transferred establishment shall come under the scope of the enterprise agreement.

Benefiting from collective labour agreement

ARTICLE 39 – (1) The members of a workers’ trade union which is a party to a collective labour agreement shall benefit from that agreement.

(2) Members of a trade union at the date of signing the collective labour agreement to which that trade union is a party shall benefit from that agreement as of the commencement date; workers who become members after the date of signature shall benefit from the agreement as of the date when the trade union communicates their membership to the employer.

(3) Members whose contract of employment terminates between the date of signature and the commencement date of the collective labour agreement shall benefit from the collective labour agreement until the date when their contract of employment terminates.

(4) Workers who are not members of the trade union that is a party to the collective labour agreement at the date of signature, or those who are subsequently recruited but do not join the union, or those who are expelled or resign from the union after the said date may avail themselves of the agreement provided that they pay a monthly solidarity dues to the trade union concerned. The consent of the trade union shall not be required in this matter. Workers who benefit from the collective labour agreement by paying solidarity contributions shall do so starting from the date on which such request is made. The requests before the date of signature shall be valid starting from the date of signature.

(5) The amount of the solidarity due which must not exceed the

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regular membership due shall be indicated in the union’s constitution.

(6) Solidarity dues shall not be paid to the trade unions whose activities have been suspended.

(7) Employer’s representatives within the meaning of this Law and those who participate in the collective labour agreement negotiations in the name of the employer shall not benefit from the collective labour agreement.

(8) A collective labour agreement concluded at the end of the strike shall not apply to workers who have worked in the workplace during the strike, excluding those who have worked in accordance with Article 65, save as otherwise provided in the agreement.

Extension

ARTICLE 40 - (1) At the request of any of the workers’ or employers’ unions or any of the employers within a branch of activity, or at the request of the Minister of Labour and Social Security, the Council of Ministers, after receiving the opinion of the Higher Board of Arbitration, may extend a collective labour agreement concluded by the trade union with the largest number of members in the branch of activity in which the workplace for which an extension is to be made is established, either in whole or in part or after making the necessary changes to all or some of the workplaces not covered by any collective labour agreement within the same branch of activity. Higher Board of Arbitration shall give its opinion on that matter within fifteen days.

(2) The extension decree shall indicate why the decision has been taken. The date of entry into force of the extension decree shall be indicated and the extension decree shall be published in the Official Gazette. However, the date of entry into force shall not be determined as a date prior to the publication date in the Official Gazette.

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(3) The extension decree shall end upon expiry of the collective labour agreement so extended.

(4) When it deems it necessary and by indicating the reasons, the Council of Ministers may abrogate the decision for extension.

(5) Provisions of the collective agreement dealing with the rights and obligations of the parties as well as the clause on recourse to private arbitration may not be extended.

(6) Decision for extension may not be taken for workplaces where the application made for collective bargaining authorization has not yet been finalized or, where a collective bargaining authorization certification has been granted, within the duration of the union’s authorization status.

(7) In the enterprises and workplaces where the collective labour agreement is extended, application may always be made for the determination of competence, and the implementation of the extension shall end automatically following the conclusion of a new collective labour agreement.

PART EIGHT

Concluding of Collective Labour Agreement

Competence

ARTICLE 41 - (1) The workers’ trade union representing at least three percent of the workers engaged in a given branch of activity and more than half of the workers employed in the workplace and forty percent of the workers in the enterprise to be covered by the collective labour agreement shall be authorised to conclude a collective labour agreement covering the workplace or enterprise in question.

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(2) In the case of enterprise collective labour agreements, the workplaces shall be considered as a whole in the calculation of the forty percent majority.

(3) If several trade unions have members of forty percent or more in the enterprise, the trade union having the largest number of members shall be authorized to conclude a collective labour agreement.

(4) An employers’ union shall have the power to conclude a collective labour agreement covering the workplace or workplaces owned by the employers belonging to the union. An employer who is not a member shall have the power to conclude a collective labour agreement covering the workplace or workplaces owned by him.

(5) The statistics published by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security in January and July of each year shall be the instrument used in calculating three percent of the workers engaged in a given branch of activity. These statistics shall cover the total number of workers in each branch of activity and the number of members in the trade unions in that branch. The statistics published shall be valid until the publication of the new statistics for the purposes of collective agreements and other formalities. The competence of a workers’ trade union that applied for or obtained a certificate of competence shall not be affected by the statistics subsequently published.

(6) The statistics against which no appeal is made within 15 days of the publication date shall become final. An application may be made to the Ankara Court of Labour during this period challenging the accuracy of the statistics. The court shall take a decision within 15 days. The interested parties or the Ministry may appeal against the decision of the court. The Court of Cassation shall give a final decision within 15 days.

(7) Membership notifications and resignations from membership communicated to the Ministry shall be used as a basis in the designation of the competent union and the arrangement of statistics by the Ministry.

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Application for determining competence

ARTICLE 42 - (1) The workers’ union wishing to conclude the collective agreement shall make application to the Ministry with a request to have its competence verified. An employers’ union or an employer not belonging to any union may make an application to the Ministry, requesting the Ministry to determine the competent workers’ trade union.

(2) Upon determining that the workers’ trade union is competent according to its records, the Ministry shall communicate the application, within six working days, together with the number of workers employed and the number of union members in the workplace or enterprise concerned, to other workers’ trade unions constituted in the same branch of activity and to the employers’ union or the employers not belonging to such unions who shall be a party to the agreement.

(3) If it is determined that the trade union does not have the required competence or the workplace does not include any trade union having the required competence, this information shall be communicated to the applicant.

(4) With regard to the commencement and termination of insurance, the notifications which are not made to the Social Security Institution within the statutory period shall not be considered in the determination of a competent trade union.

(5) The principles and procedures concerning the determination of a competent trade union shall be regulated by a by-law issued by the Ministry.

Objection to determination of competence

ARTICLE 43 - (1) Any workers’ or employers’ union or an employer not belonging to such a union who receives the communication as provided in Article 42 may apply to the competent court within six

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working days after the receipt of such communication, disputing the competence of either one or both of the parties or claiming that they themselves have the required majority.

(2) A petition for an objection shall first be registered with the competent authority and then submitted to the court. Any workers’ trade union that is not able to represent at least three percent of the workers in the branch of activity in which it is established may not make an objection regarding competence.

(3) The court shall take a final decision within six working days without a hearing on the appeals concerning time limits and factual error in the number of workers and union members. On any other appeal, the court shall hold a hearing and take a decision. Where the decision after the hearing is appealed, the Court of Appeal shall give a final ruling within 15 days.

(4) Upon being determined that it is not competent in accordance with the second paragraph of Article 42, the workers’ trade union may file a legal action in the competent court for its determination of competence within six working days. The court shall communicate the legal action to the workers’ trade unions which registered at least three percent of the workers in that given branch of activity as members, and to the employers’ union or the employer which is not a member of any union. The court shall take a decision within two months.

(5) The procedure to determine competence shall be suspended until the final decision given on the objection.

Certification of competence

ARTICLE 44 - (1) The Ministry shall issue a certificate of competence to the union concerned within six working days after the expiry of the time limit allowed for an appeal if no objection has been made, or within six working days of receiving notice of the decision that determines that the union has competence as a result of the union’s objection or if the court rejects the objection.

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Collective labour agreement without certificate of competence

ARTICLE 45 - (1) Where a collective labour agreement is concluded without a certificate of competence, any interested party or the Ministry may lodge an appeal within 45 days of the finding of the fact by the Ministry to the effect that either one or both of the parties is incompetent and that the agreement should therefore be null and void.

(2) The court, upon request and if deemed necessary, may suspend the implementation of the collective labour agreement until a decision is taken.

Invitation to collective bargaining

ARTICLE 46 – (1) One of the parties shall issue an invitation to meet for collective bargaining to the other party within 15 days of receiving the certificate of competence. The competent authority shall immediately be informed of the date of the invitation.

(2) The certificate of competence shall be void if the invitation is not issued within this period.

(3) The party that issues the invitation shall be under an obligation to enclose all of the proposals that it will put forward in the collective negotiations. However, the parties’ right to make amendments in those proposals that they will put forward in the collective negotiations is reserved.

Commencement and period of collective bargaining

ARTICLE 47 - (1) The date, place and time for negotiations shall be determined by agreement between the parties within six working days of the date when the notice of invitation is delivered to the other party and the competent authority shall be so informed. In the absence of such agreement, the competent authority shall, at the

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request of any party, fix the date, place and time of the first meeting and shall notify the parties accordingly.

(2) If the workers’ trade union does not attend the first meeting within 30 days of the invitation date and the collective bargaining does not commence, the competence of the workers’ trade union shall be void.

(3) The period of collective bargaining shall be 60 days as of the date of first meeting.

Concluding and submitting the collective labour agreement, and announcing it at the workplace

ARTICLE 48 - (1) If bargaining is successful, a collective labour agreement shall be drawn up in four copies and signed by the representatives of the parties. Two copies shall be submitted by the party that issued the invitation to the competent authority within six working days. The competent authority shall send one copy to the Ministry.

(2) Employer shall be liable to post the decisions of special arbitration or Higher Board of Arbitration which have the same effect and force as collective labour agreement and of the decisions of court or special arbitration taken in the collective right disputes, on the walls so as to be noticeable by the workers in the workplace(s).

PART NINE

Settlement of Collective Labour Disputes

Determination of a dispute

ARTICLE 49 – (1) If either of the parties fails to appear at the first meeting determined for the collective bargaining or, even if present at the meeting, fails to attend the meetings after the commencement of

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the bargaining or, if the parties record in a report that they have failed to come to an agreement or if the period for collective bargaining terminates without any agreement, one of the parties shall inform the situation to the competent authority in written within six working days. Otherwise, competence of the workers’ trade union shall be void.

Mediation

ARTICLE 50 – (1) Upon receiving the report on disagreement, the competent authority shall assign a mediator from an official list within six working days with the participation of at least one party or if both parties fail to attend, directly itself. On the condition that the parties agree on a mediator whose name is among the official mediators list, the determined person shall be assigned by the commissioned authority as the mediator for the mentioned dispute.

(2) The mediator shall make every effort to bring about a settlement between the parties and make proposals to the interested parties.

(3) The tenure of the mediator shall be 15 days starting from the notification made to him. This period may be extended for a maximum of six working days with the consent of the parties; the competent authority shall be informed accordingly.

(4) Where the mediator succeeds in reconciling the parties, the provisions of Article 48 shall be applied.

(5) If the parties fail to come to an agreement at the end of the time limit fixed for mediation, the mediator shall record the dispute within three working days and submit this report to the competent authority together with his recommendations and proposals to bring about a settlement of the dispute. The competent authority shall transmit a copy of this report to each of the parties within three working days at the latest.

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(6) The parties and all other interested parties shall be liable to submit all kinds of information and documents that the mediator asks for the dispute.

(7) The competent authority shall determine the fee of the mediator within the maximum and minimum limits envisaged by the by-law and by also taking into the scope and nature of the dispute into account.

Application to the Higher Board of Arbitration

ARTICLE 51 - (1) Within six working days from the finalization of no-strike resolution in the strike ballot, if taken, the workers’ trade union may apply to the Higher Board of Arbitration; in disputes concerning the workplaces where legal strike and lock out bans exist, in six working days from the communication of the report indicated in subsection 5 of Article 50; and where the dispute still subsists at the expiration of the suspension term, in six working days; the parties may apply to the Higher Board of Arbitration. Otherwise the workers’ trade union shall lose its competence.

(2) Decisions of the Higher Board of Arbitration are binding and shall take effect as a collective labour agreement.

Recourse to special arbitration

ARTICLE 52 - (1) The parties may agree to resort to special arbitration at any stage in the collective dispute involving rights and interests.

(2) Provisions providing for recourse to special arbitration at the request of either of the parties may be included in the collective labour agreement. If there is not any provision contrary in the collective labour agreement, the provisions of the Civil Court Procedures Law of 12 January 2011, No. 6100, concerning special arbitration shall apply. The decisions of the special arbitration in cases of collective rights disputes shall be subject to general provisions.

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(3) Where the parties agree in writing to resort to special arbitration in a dispute involving interests, the provisions governing mediation, strike and lock-out, statutory arbitration shall not thereafter apply. In the disputes involving interests, the decisions of special arbitration shall have the same force and effect as a collective labour agreement.

(4) The parties may agree to select the Higher Board of Arbitration as a special arbitrator at any stage in the dispute.

Interpretation case and interest rate in action for performance

ARTICLE 53 - (1) Legal action may be taken in competent labour court for the disputes arising from interpretation of collective labour agreement. The court shall give a decision within two months at the latest. Where this decision is appealed, the Court of Cassation shall give a final decision within two months.

(2) The highest interest rate applied to working capital loans shall be applied in court cases for actions for performance of contract which are based on collective labour agreement.

PART TEN

Establishment and Working Principles of

Higher Board of Arbitration

Establishment

ARTICLE 54 - (1) The Higher Board of Arbitration shall consist of the following, under the chairmanship of the most senior head of the departments of the Court of Cassation, responsible for the disputes stemming from this law,

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a) A member to be selected by the Council of Ministers among persons having knowledge and experience in economics, management, social policy or labour law, who shall not have any ties in any way with workers’ or employers’ organisations and any function in the organs of the political parties and shall be outside the ministries,

b) A member to be selected by the Board of Higher Education among the teaching staff of labour law and social security law departments of the universities,

c) The Director General of Labour of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security,

ç) Two members to be elected by the workers’ confederation having the largest number of members.

d) On behalf of the employers, two members to be elected by the employers’ confederation having the largest number of members, one of whom is from the public employers. However, in case the trade union confederation which the trade union party to the dispute affiliated to is different than the above, and also the employer confederation which the employer organisation party to the dispute affiliated to is different than the above, one member to be selected by these confederations shall participate in the meeting as the second member of the Board.

(2) Term of office of the elected members shall be two years and they may be re-elected for another two years. Conditions stipulated for the founding members stated in Article 6 of this Law shall be sought for the members to be elected on behalf of workers and employers.

(3) Two substitute members shall be elected for each of the elected member in the same manner. First and second substitutes for the chairmanship of the Board shall be elected by Civil General Council in the Court of Cassation among the heads of civil chambers.

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The Ministry shall request election of the members to participate in Higher Board of Arbitration from relevant authorities and organisations three months prior to each electoral period.

Administrative organisation

ARTICLE 55 - (1) A general secretariat affiliated to Higher Board of Arbitration shall be established in order to execute correspondence and expertise services of the Board upon proposal of the chairman of the Board n, a Secretary General shall be appointed according to the general procedures.

(2) Adequate number of rapporteurs and experts shall be appointed or assigned by Prime Ministry upon the request of the Higher Board of Arbitration. However, those who work in workers’ or employers’ unions and confederations cannot be assigned as rapporteurs and experts.

Working Principles

ARTICLE 56 - (1) The Higher Board of Arbitration shall have a meeting attended by the chairman and at least five members within six working days after its receipt of the application. If the chairman or any member is on leave or excused from attending, he shall be replaced by a substitute from the same group.

(2) The Higher Board of Arbitration shall examine the dispute on the basis of the documents. The Board may request any kind of information and document related to the dispute from the parties and all those concerned, when necessary. The parties and all those concerned shall be obliged to submit any document or information that the Board requests. The Board shall also call upon and hear those persons whose opinion it seeks, or shall request them to submit their opinions in written. The provisions of the Law No.6100 relating to Civil Courts Procedures as to witnesses and experts shall apply to

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such persons. Parties may also request to be heard in the Board for informative purposes and may submit information and documents.

(3) The Higher Board of Arbitration shall take its decisions by majority of the members present in the meeting. If the votes are equal, the chairman shall cast the decisive vote.

(4) The allocation required to meet the payments to be affected as per this article shall be added to the budget of the Ministry.

By-law on recourse to arbitrator and mediator

ARTICLE 57 - (1) Working principles and procedures of Higher Board of Arbitration; compensations to be paid to chairman and members of Higher Board of Arbitration and to the experts and rapporteurs to be assigned in this Board; remunerations to be paid to experts and witnesses as well as provisions on procedures to be applied in interest conflicts during examination of special arbitrator, qualifications, election and remunerations of mediators shall be laid down in a by-law to be issued by Ministry after taking into account the opinion of the Ministry of Finance.

PART ELEVEN

Strike and Lock-Out

Definition of a strike

ARTICLE 58 - (1) The expression “strike” means any concerted cessation by workers of their work with the object of halting the activities of a given establishment or of paralysing such activities to a considerable extent, or any abandonment by workers of their work in accordance with a decision taken to that effect by an organisation.

(2) Lawful strike means any strike called by workers in accordance with this law with the object of safeguarding or improving

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their economic and social position and working conditions, in the event of a dispute during negotiations to conclude a collective labour agreement.

(3) Unlawful strike means any strike called without fulfilling the conditions for a lawful strike.

Definition of lock-out

ARTICLE 59 - (1) Lock-out means any action taken by an employer or his representative, either upon his own initiative or in accordance with a decision taken by an organisation, to collectively suspend workers from work in a manner that completely stops the activities in the workplace.

(2) Lawful lock-out means any lock-out ordered in accordance with this law where there is a dispute in the course of negotiations for a collective labour agreement and a decision to call a strike has been taken by the workers’ trade union.

(3) Unlawful lock-out means any lock-out ordered without fulfilling the conditions for a lawful lock-out.

Decision for a lawful strike or lock-out and their implementation

ARTICLE 60 – (1) A decision to call a strike may be taken in sixty days following the notification date of the report on the dispute referred to in the fifth paragraph of Article 50 and put into practice within this period, and the date of the strike shall be communicated to the counter-party six working days beforehand. If a decision to call a strike is not taken or its implementation date is not communicated to the counter-party within the mentioned period, authority to conclude a collective labour agreement shall end.

(2) The employers’ union, or the employer not member to any union, may take a lock-out decision within sixty working days of the date on which the decision to call a strike is communicated to him and shall put into practice within this period and the date of the

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lock-out shall be communicated to the other party six working days beforehand.

(3) The decision to strike and lock-out shall immediately be announced in the workplace or the workplaces by the party who has taken the said decision.

(4) The right to strike and lock-out which does not start at its date as notified shall be void. If the decision to strike is not put into practice within the stated time and if there is not a decision for lock-out or if the lock-out is not put into practice within the stated time, the certificate of competence shall be void.

(5) The date on which the decision to call a strike or lock-out will be implemented shall be notified to public notary and competent authority by decision-making party to be communicated to the other party. Date of enforcement shall be immediately announced in workplace or workplaces as well.

(6) With respect to the decision to call a strike for disputes regarding group collective labour agreements, even if this decision has been taken for some of the workplaces that are within the scope of this dispute, the decision to order a lockout may be taken for other workplaces within the scope of the dispute.

(7) The Minister of Labour and Social Security may act as a mediator or may designate someone as a mediator for the settlement of a dispute about which a decision to call a lawful strike has been taken.

Strike Vote

ARTICLE 61 - (1) A strike vote must be complied with if one -fourth of the workers employed in the workplace on the date when the strike decision was announced request the competent authority in writing that a strike vote must be taken, within six working days following the announcement of the strike. The strike vote must be

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conducted by the competent authority within six working days following the written request.

(2) Objections regarding this vote shall be made to the local court within three working days starting from the day of the voting. The court shall take a final decision within three working days.

(3) If an absolute majority of the workers employed on the date of the announcement decides against a strike in the workplace, the decision to call a strike in this dispute shall not be implemented. If no agreement is achieved within the time limit stated in the first paragraph of Article 60 or workers’ union does not apply to the High Board of Arbitration, certificate of competence shall be void.

(4) The requests for voting on a strike regarding a dispute on the conclusion of an enterprise collective labour agreement shall be submitted to the competent authority to which each workplace of the enterprise is affiliated. The information on whether the number of the workers who request for voting on a strike is sufficient or not as well as the results of the vote on a strike shall be collected by the competent authority to which the headquarter of the enterprise is affiliated and a final decision shall be taken there.

(5) The requests for voting on a strike regarding a dispute on the conclusion of a group collective labour agreement shall be submitted to the competent authority to which each workplace of the group is affiliated. The information on whether the number of the workers who request for voting on a strike is sufficient or not as well as the results of the vote on a strike shall be determined for each workplace separately.

(6) Principles and procedures of vote for a strike shall be laid down in a by-law to be issued by the Ministry.

Prohibition of strikes and lock-outs

ARTICLE 62 - (1) It shall not be lawful to call a strike or order

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a lock-out in the following works: Life or property-saving, funeral and mortuary, production, refining and distribution of city water, electricity, natural gas and petroleum as well as petrochemical works, production of which starts from naphtha or natural gas; banking services; in workplaces operated directly by the Ministry of National Defence, General Command of Gendarmerie and Coast Guard Command, fire fighting and urban public transportation services carried out by public institutions and in hospitals.

(2) Where the life of the community is paralysed by natural disaster, the Council of Ministers may prohibit strikes and lock-outs in the workplaces located in such areas as may be necessary, provided that it will be effective for as long as the situation continues. The strike and lock-out shall be implemented within sixty days after the prohibition is lifted, provided that the other party is informed six working days beforehand.

(3) It shall not be lawful to call a strike or order a lock-out in sea, air, rail and road transportation vehicles, before reaching their final destination within Turkish territory.

Suspension of strikes and lock-outs

ARTICLE 63 - (1) A lawful strike or lock-out that has been called or commenced may be suspended by the Council of Ministers for 60 days with a decree if it is prejudicial to public health or national security. The suspension shall come into force on the date of publication of the decree.

(2) After a suspension decree has entered into force, a mediator designated according to seventh paragraph of Article 50 shall make every effort for the settlement of the dispute during the suspension period. During the suspension period, the parties may also agree to refer the dispute to a private arbitrator.

(3) If an agreement is not reached before the expiry date of the suspension period, the High Board of Arbitration settles the dispute

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upon the application of the either parties within six working days. Otherwise, the competence of workers’ union shall be void.

Execution of strike and lock-out

ARTICLE 64 – (1) Workers shall be free to participate or not to participate in the strike. Workers who are participating in the strike or who are locked out must leave the workplace. The workers who do not participate or who decide not to continue to participate in the strike shall not be prevented from working in the workplace in any way. That said, the employer shall be free to employ or not to employ those workers.

(2) Workers who are participating in the strike or who are locked out shall be prohibited from obstructing the entrance or exit of the workplace.

(3) The sale of the goods produced by the workers before the strike and their being taken out of the workplace shall not be hindered.

(4) The sale of the goods produced by the workers who did not participate in the strike and their being taken out of the workplace or the movement of the necessary materials, equipment and supplies into the workplace shall not be hindered. The provisions of Article 68 shall also apply to the performance of such work in accordance with this paragraph.

(5) The workers’ union shall be responsible for any material damage sustained in the workplace during a strike caused by the wrongful acts of the union taking part in the strike. If the damage is caused by individual acts not related to the decision of the authorised union, the worker or the administrator of union who committed the acts shall be responsible for the damages.

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Workers excluded from taking part in a lawful strike or lock-out

ARTICLE 65 - (1) On condition that their activities are unrelated to the production or sale of goods, a sufficient number of workers shall be required to work and the employer shall be required to employ them, with the objective of ensuring the continuity of work in processes which have to be maintained for technical reasons; ensuring the safety of the workplace and preventing damage to machinery, installations, equipment, raw materials and finished and semi-finished products; and ensuring the protection of animals and plants.

(2) The type and number of workers, including substitutes, to be excluded from a strike or lock-out shall be announced in writing within the workplace by the employer or his representative during the six working days following the commencement of collective bargaining, and a copy of the announcement shall be notified to the workers’ union that is a party. If an objection to this notice is not submitted to the competent court within six working days, the notice shall become final. Where an objection is submitted, the local court shall take a decision within six working days. This decision is final.

(3) If the workers to be excluded from a strike or lock-out have not been determined for any reason during the time limit fixed within the legal time, the workers’ or employers’ union may request the competent authority to determine the number of such workers even after the expiry of the time limit. The competent authority shall determine this as soon as possible and notify the parties. Where necessary, the competent authority may ex officio determine this. Any of the parties may lodge an appeal with the competent court against this determination within six working days.

(4) The workers that will continue working in the workplace during the strike and lock-out shall be determined ex officio by the competent authority and shall be notified in writing to the employer and workers concerned within three working days following the date

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that the competent authority is informed on the decision to call a strike and lock-out. This provision shall not apply to the chairman and members of executive board of the workers’ union and its branch who work in the relevant work place and are a party to the collective bargaining.

(5)The employer may recruit new workers, with the written permission of the competent authority, in lieu of the workers who do not work for any reason from among those that cannot participate in strike and lock-out.

Protection of the right to strike or lock-out

ARTICLE 66 – (1) Any clause waiving or restricting the right to strike or lock-out included in an individual or collective employment contract shall be null and void.

(2) The employment contract of a worker cannot be terminated for contributing to or supporting a decision to call a legal strike or participating in or supporting participation in a legal strike.

(3) During a strike and lock-out, workers shall benefit from insurance benefits in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Law No 5510 on Social Insurances and General Health Insurance.

Effect of a lawful strike or lock-out on employment contracts

ARTICLE 67 – (1) Employment contracts of workers who take part in a lawful strike, or of those who don’t take part in the strike or desist from joining the strike but cannot be employed due to the strike and of the workers who are locked out lawfully shall be suspended during the strike or lock-out.

(2) The employer shall be required to pay, on the normal pay day, the wages and supplements earned prior to the commencement of the strike or lock-out to workers whose employment contracts are

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suspended due to a strike or a lock-out. The personnel responsible for making the payment shall also be required to work. Otherwise, the provisions of the fifth paragraph of Article 65 shall apply.

(3) The employer shall not pay any wages or social benefits to workers whose employment contracts are suspended for the period of a strike or lock-out, nor shall this period be taken into account in the calculation of severance payment. Collective labour agreements or employment contracts may not include any clause contrary to these provisions.

Prohibition of recruitment or other employment

ARTICLE 68 - (1) During a lawful strike or lock-out, the employer shall not be permitted to recruit any worker or to employ any other person permanently or temporarily in substitution for a worker whose employment contract is suspended in accordance with the provisions of Article 67. The employer can recruit new workers in substitution for the workers who die or quit on their own will or whose contracts of employment are terminated by the employer with just cause among the workers excluded from taking part in a strike or lock-out. Acts of the employer in contravention of this prohibition shall be inspected, upon the written request of the strike pickets or the workers’ union which is a party, by the competent authority.

(2) The workers who are not participating or have refused to participate in a strike shall only be employed in their own functions. These workers shall not be required to carry out the functions of the workers who participate in the strike.

(3) A worker whose employment contract is suspended in consequence of a lawful strike or lock-out shall not be permitted to accept any other job of a different employer. Otherwise, the employer may terminate his employment contract with just cause. However, the workers employed under a part-time employment contract may work in other workplaces for a period to complete their legal weekly working time.

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Effect of a lawful strike or lock-out on housing rights

ARTICLE 69 - (1) An employer shall not require a worker who takes part in a lawful strike or is affected by a lawful lock-out to vacate the housing he has placed at the worker’s disposal.

(2) During a lawful strike or lock-out, the employer may require the workers occupying such housing to pay the appropriate sums in respect of repairs, water, gas, lighting and heating charges, and current rent.

(3) During a lawful strike or lock-out, the employer shall not be permitted to curtail the water, gas, lighting or heating services provided in connection with the housing. However, a worker shall not be entitled to demand the continuation of such services if they have been curtailed as a direct consequence of the lawful strike or lock-out.

Consequences of an unlawful strike or lock-out

ARTICLE 70 - (1) In the event of an unlawful strike, the employer may terminate with just cause the contract of employment of any worker who has supported the decision to call the strike or urged others to support it, or has taken part in the strike or has urged others to take part in it or continue it.

(2) Any damages suffered by the employer as a result of an unlawful strike shall be compensated by the workers’ union that decided to call it or, if it takes place otherwise than by a decision of a workers’ organisation, by the workers who took part in the strike.

(3) In the event of an unlawful lock-out workers shall be entitled to terminate their employment contract with just cause. The employer shall be required to pay all the sums that a worker is entitled to receive under his employment contract and to compensate any damages he has sustained during the period of the lock-out, without any obligation on the worker’s part to do the corresponding work.

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Declaratory Action

ARTICLE 71 - (1) Either party may at any time request the competent labour court to determine whether or not a strike or lock-out that has been called, ordered or commenced is unlawful. The court shall take a decision within one month. In case that decision is appealed the Supreme Court takes its decision in one month. The decision shall be binding on the parties and the members of the workers’ and employers’ union and shall be an absolute evidence in criminal proceedings.

(2) The judge may order the suspension of the strike or lock-out in question as a precautionary injunction.

Abuse of the right to strike and lock-out

ARTICLE 72 – (1) Where the competent court determines, upon the application of one of the parties or the Minister of Labour and Social Security, that the right to strike or lock-out is exercised contrary to the rules of good faith or in such a manner as to be harmful for society or destructive to national wealth, that strike or lock-out shall be suspended.

(2) If it is established by the final judgement of a court that a lawful lock-out has been ordered with the object of permanently closing the workplace, the lock-out shall cease as soon as the judgement is communicated to the employer or employers’ union concerned. In case the lock-out continues despite the court decision, the workers shall be entitled to benefit from the provisions of Article 70.

Strike and lock-out pickets

ARTICLE 73 - (1) A workers’ trade union that has called a lawful strike in a workplace shall be entitled, with the object of ensuring that its decision is respected, to place strike pickets consisting of not

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more than four of its members at each entrance and exit, who may not resort to force or threats, and who shall ensure that the members of the organisation respect the decision to go on strike.

(2) The strike pickets shall not obstruct the entrance or exit of the workplace or stop those going in or out, even for purposes of control.

(3) An employers’ union that has ordered a lock-out in a workplace shall be entitled, with the object of ensuring that its decision is respected, to send pickets to the workplaces affected by the lockout, who may not resort to force or threats, and who shall ensure that the members of the organisation respect the decision to order a lock-out.

Powers of the civil authority in the event of a strike or lock-out

ARTICLE 74 - (1) The highest civil official of the locality shall take the measures to meet the services and necessities which are compulsory for the daily lives of the people and which are likely to fail and to ensure continuity of the activities in the workplace.

(2) In the event of a strike or lock-out, the nature of the measures to be provided by the highest civil official of the locality related to public order shall not prejudice the execution of a lawful strike or lock-out.

Decision to end a strike or lock-out

ARTICLE 75 - (1) A decision to end a lawful strike or lock-out shall, upon being taken by the party which initiated the strike or lock-out, be notified in writing to the opposite party and to the competent authority by the end of the next working day.

(2) The competent authority shall announce at the workplace that the strike or lock-out has ended. A lawful strike or lock-out shall cease on the date of the announcement.

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(3) A decision to end a strike shall not require ending a lock-out; likewise, a decision to end a lock-out shall not require ending a strike.

(4) The strike or lock-out shall end ipso facto and the certificate of competence shall be null and void where the workers’ trade union that initiated the strike is barred from activity or dissolved or liquidated for any reason.

(5) The lock-out shall end ipso facto where the employers’ union that initiated the lock-out is barred from activity or dissolved or liquidated for any reason.

(6) Where it is determined that three-fourths of the workers who, on the date of determination of competence at the workplace were members of the union, have left the membership of the union that initiated such strike, any of the interested parties may apply to the competent court to end the strike. The decision of the court to end the strike shall be announced as provided in the second paragraph.

PART TWELVE

Miscellaneous and Final Provisions

Cessation of activities of the trade union

ARTICLE 76 - (1) In case the activities of the trade union are ceased, the procedures and implementations stated from the seventh to the twelfth part of this Law shall be suspended with the decision on cessation; they shall resume when the trade union begins to function.

Reports and records

ARTICLE 77 – (1) The Provincial Directorate of Labour and

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Employment Agency shall send the reports and records submitted to it, to the Ministry within three working days upon their submission. It shall keep a copy of these in the file.

(2) The Ministry shall keep records for collective labour agreements. If a dispute involving the text of the collective labour agreement arises, the text recorded by the Ministry shall be taken as basis. Rules and procedures on recording shall be regulated by a by-law to be issued by the Ministry.

Penal provisions

ARTICLE 78 – (1) According to this Law;

a) Any person who makes false statement on the conditions to become founder of a trade union as indicated in Article 6 shall be liable to an administrative fine of seven hundred Turkish Liras if his acts do not constitute a crime which requires a heavier sentence.

b) Any person using fraud to influence the result of ballots to be made in accordance with Article 14 and of polling and classification of votes shall be liable to an administrative fine of five thousand Turkish Liras if his acts do not constitute a crime which requires a heavier sentence.

c) Any person enrolling members in violation of Article 17; and any person forcing another person to maintain as a member or resign his membership in violation of Article 19 shall be liable to an administrative fine of seven hundred Turkish Liras if his acts do not constitute a crime which requires a heavier sentence.

ç) Any person acting contrary to Paragraph six of Article 26; and any person acting contrary to Paragraph seven who use or decides to use the names, emblems, symbols and signs of political parties shall be liable to an administrative fine of five thousand Turkish Liras.

d) Competent authorities of organisations who act contrary

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to Paragraphs two and three of Article 28 shall be liable to an administrative fine of one thousand five hundred Turkish Liras. In case of repetition of the act, an administrative fine equal to the amount of donation shall also be applied.

e) Where a decision to call a strike or order a lock-out is put into effect contrary to the conditions and procedures set forth in this Law, any person deciding to make such a strike or lock-out, inciting and obliging others to decide to do and sustain it or take part in it and any person taking part in or sustaining such a lock-out shall be liable to an administrative fine of five thousand Turkish Liras if their acts do not constitute a crime which requires a heavier sentence.

f) Any person taking part in an unlawful strike and sustaining it shall be liable to an administrative fine of seven hundred Turkish Liras.

g) Where a lawful strike or lock-out decision is implemented contrary to the conditions and procedures stated in this Law, any person implementing that decision, inciting or obliging others to implement and sustain it shall be liable to an administrative fine of five thousand Turkish Liras.

ğ) Where a strike or lock-out is prohibited temporarily or permanently, completely or partly by a court decision, any person failing to take a decision to end such a strike or lock-out, or taking part in such a strike or lock-out or sustaining it or inciting or obliging others to take part in it or sustain shall be liable to an administrative fine of five thousand Turkish Liras if their acts do not constitute a crime which requires a heavier sentence.

h) Any worker failing to leave the workplace, although taking part in a strike or affected by a lock-out and any person inciting or obliging workers to commit such actions shall be liable to an administrative fine of seven hundred Turkish Liras if their acts do not constitute a crime which requires a heavier sentence.

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ı) Any employer recruiting new workers without obtaining the written permission prescribed in Article 65 shall be liable to an administrative fine of seven hundred Turkish Liras for each worker recruited or employed without such permission.

i) Any employer acting in contravention of Article 68 employing workers in substitution of workers who take part in the strike shall be liable to an administrative fine of one thousand five hundred Turkish Liras for each worker employed.

j) Any strike picket who is not a member of the worker’s trade union and acting in contravention of Article 73 shall be liable to an administrative fine of one thousand five hundred Turkish Liras.

(2) Any person committing the acts prescribed in the subparagraphs (a) and (d) of the first paragraph of this Article shall not carry out any duty in the organs of the union for five years after the decision of the court is finalized.

(3) The administrative sanctions envisaged in the first paragraph shall be imposed by the Head of the Provincial Directorate of Labour and Employment Agency of the Ministry, with its reasons explained.

Competent and authorized courts

ARTICLE 79 – (1) Disputes arising from the implementation of this Law shall be resolved by courts having jurisdiction in labour matters. However, with regard to the disputes arising from the implementation of the seventh and eleventh parts, the court where the competent authority is located shall be authorized.

Implementation of other legislation

ARTICLE 80 - (1) In cases where there is no provision with respect to workers’ and employers’ organisations in this Law, provisions of the Law No. 4721 and the Law on Associations of 4th November 2004,

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No. 5253 that do not conflict with this Law shall apply.

(2) In cases where there is no provision with respect to collective labour agreements in this Law, the provisions of the Civil Code and the Law on Obligations as well as other laws regulating employment contracts that do not conflict with this Law shall apply.

(3) Unless otherwise specified in this Law, the notifications shall be made according to the Law on Notification No. 7201.

Provisions repealed

ARTICLE 81 – (1) Law on Trade Unions No. 2821 of 5/5/1983, the Law on Collective Labour Agreement, Strike and Lock-out No. 2822 of 5/5/1983 and the subparagraph (a) of the second paragraph of Article 1 of the Labour Courts Law No. 5521 of 30/1/1950 have been repealed.

(2) References made to Laws No. 2821 and 2822 by other legislation shall be deemed to have been made to this Law.

Transitional provisions

PROVISIONAL ARTICLE 1 – (1) The amendments to the statute that the organizations must make in accordance with the Law shall be made upon the decision of the executive board within one year as of the publication date of this Law. However, trade unions shall determine the branch of activity in which the trade union will function upon the decision of the executive board within one month as of the publication date of the by-law defined in the third paragraph of Article 4 of this Law. The amendments to the statute shall be submitted to the first general assembly for approval.

PROVISIONAL ARTICLE 2 – (1) Following the publication of the by-law referred to in Article 19, the Ministry shall communicate the

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lists of current members to the trade unions within six months. Trade unions shall notify the Ministry of their objections, if any, within one month. The Ministry shall make a decision about the objections within one month.

PROVISIONAL ARTICLE 3 - (1) The arrangements related to the implementation of this Law shall enter into force within one year following the publication of the Law. Until these arrangements enter into force, the implementation of the provisions of the arrangements entered into force based on the Laws no. 2821 and 2822 which are not contrary to this Law shall continue.

PROVISIONAL ARTICLE 4 - (1) Carrying out the procedures on acquiring trade union membership specified in the fifth paragraph of Article 17 and on resignation from membership in a trade union specified in the second and forth paragraphs of Article 19 via e-Government shall be carried out in accordance with the third and fifth paragraphs of Article 22 and the second paragraph of the Article 25 of the repealed Law on Trade Unions no. 2821, until the end of the first year following the date of entry into force of this Law.

PROVISIONAL ARTICLE 5 - (1) For the union officials who terminate their employment contract since they are union officials at the publication date of the Law, the provisions of the second and third paragraphs of the Article 23 shall be applied. However, the union officials whose terms of offices end due to the reasons specified in the second paragraph of Article 23 shall be entitled to severance payment calculated according to the equivalent wage of their peers provided that they apply within one month after that date.

PROVISIONAL ARTICLE 6 - (1) The requirement for at least three percent member in the branch of activity in which the union is established specified in the first and fifth paragraphs of article 41 and second and fourth paragraphs of Article 43 shall be applied

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as one percent from the publication date of January 2013 statistics to 1/7/2016 for trade unions affiliated to confederations which are members of Economic and Social Council and as two per cent until 1/7/2018.

(2) Following the latest 2009 statistics, and for trade unions established until 15 September 2012 and affiliated to the Economic and Social Council, the requests made for competence from the date of this Law’s becoming effective until the publication of January 2013 statistics, shall be settled according to the workplace or enterprise-level majority criteria cited in the first paragraph of Article 41.

(3) The requests made to the Ministry for competence until the publication of January 2013 statistics and for unions whose collective agreements signed before this Law’s coming into force will expire after the publication of January 2013 statistics: the requests for collective bargaining competence, limited only to the next collective agreement term, shall be settled according to the statistics of July 2009 published by the Ministry in accordance with Article 12 of the repealed Law no. 2822 and its pertinent provisions.

(4) The collective labour bargaining and collective labour disputes started before the publication date of this Law shall be concluded in accordance with the repealed Law no. 2822 and the statutes and by-laws based on this Law.

Date of taking effect

ARTICLE 82 – (1) This Law shall come into effect on the date of its publication.

Enforcement

ARTICLE 83 – (1) The Council of Ministers shall be responsible for the enforcement of this Law.

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TABLE (1)

No Branches of Activity

1 Hunting and fisheries, agriculture and forestry

2 Food industry

3 Mining and stone quarries

4 Petroleum, chemicals, rubber, plastics and pharmaceuticals

5 Textile, ready-made clothing and leather

6 Wood and paper

7 Communication

8 Printed and published materials and journalism

9 Banking, finance and insurance

10 Commerce, office, education and fine arts

11 Cement, clay and glass

12 Metal

13 Construction

14 Energy

15 Transport

16 Shipbuilding and maritime transportation, warehouse and storage

17 Health and social services

18 Accommodation and entertainment

19 Defence and security

20 General services

MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND SOCIAL SECURITY -2013

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