Report: Turkey: union rights at a critical stage

Abstract

English: Justice and Development Party). In 2002 the AKP was the dominant party, and it has since performed well in national, local and presidential elections. In June 2015 the party saw its share of the vote fall as pro-Kurdish left parties and right wing secular parties increased their share of the vote. The AKP gambled on re-running snap elections and regained its dominance. Over the past ten years Erdoğan has cracked down on various ‘conspiracies’, notably between 2007-2010, when hundreds of secularists on both the right and left were subject to raids, investigations , prosecution, and in some cases lengthy prison terms. Among those targeted were senior military figures, journalists, members of the judiciary , all allegedly members of a vast deep-State secular conspiracy that supposedly aimed to overthrow the AKP. Members of left and proKurdish groups, including trade unionists, were also harassed, investigated, and prosecuted in this period. But somewhat unexpectedly, following these crackdowns, in 2012, Erdoğan established a peace process with the Marxist-inspired Partiya Karkerên Kurdistanê (PKK, English: Kurdistan Workers’ Party). This process ended just as abruptly in July 2015 when Turkey attacked PKK positions just weeks after the AKP was spooked by its temporary setbacks in the June 2015 elections. The AK Party’s record on union rights Under military rule most unions were banned. In 1980 a leader of the left-wing DISK union was assassinated. In 1999 an official from a DISK-affiliated union was killed in police detention. These incidents predate the AKP’s time in power. Precariousness, repression of unions and dismissals of organisers have also long been regular occurrences prior to the AKP taking power, as have strike bans and ‘double threshold’ laws requiring unions to organise whole tracts of entire industrial sectors before they could enjoy bargaining rights at even a single local company. The AKP, however, has failed significantly to improve the situation for trade union rights, and its own record has, over its years in power, appeared to decline rather than improve. Privatisation became a major policy objective in 1991 and this remains the case. The private sector exhibits employment insecurity, and there is not sufficient protection against dismissal or transfer of job for anti-union reasons. Mass dismissal , anti-union dismissals, and generally weakened employment security post-privatisation are significant problems. Turkey has frequently experienced violent repression of strikes and workers’ protests. The legislation also establishes a framework that perFollowing an attempted coup d’etat, Turkey is under a state of emergency in which huge social changes are being pushed through, including the mass dismissal of members of the judiciary, teachers, and civil servants, amounting to literally tens of thousands of people INTERNATIONAL union rights Page 22 Volume 23 Issue 2 2016 DANIEL BLACKBURN is the Director of ICTUR in London O n 15 July the world watched as an attempted military coup d’état unfolded in Turkey. The country has experienced previous interference from an interventionist military that has sought to push out the far-left, far-right and Islamist parties, but had enjoyed nearly 20 years of stability. The President called on citizens to take to the streets to protest the coup, and they did, in large numbers; confronting military units, in most cases through peaceful opposition, though gunfire was reported in several places. A number of media buildings were occupied and broadcasts interrupted , and the Turkish Parliament was bombed. Clashes were reported between factions of the military , police, and civilians. But by the following morning the coup was effectively over and President Erdoğan was emphatically back in control of the country. More than 200 were reported dead, more than 1500 were wounded, and thousands had been arrested. Erdoğan rapidly set about a vigorous process of eradicating opponents said to have been involved with the coup plotters, as part of which Turkey has formally informed the Council of Europe that certain of its obligations under the European Convention of Human Rights are regarded as suspended, during a three-month state of emergency. The rise of the AK Party Civil conflict in the 1970s culminated in a military coup in Sept. 1980. The formation of political parties was re...