Turkey: Council of Global Unions and ETUC call for presidential veto of new anti-union legislation

A joint letter (click here for Turkish and English version) sent by the Council of Global Unions and ETUC strongly condemns an article added at the last moment to the new trade union bill. The article states that in workplaces with less than 30 employees discrimination or dismissals arising from union activity will go unpunished.Employer impunity will be guaranteed.

In addition changes to the complex rules governing thresholds of membership in clearly defined industrial and service sectors will result in many unions losing their right to collective bargaining. In some sectors it may result in no union recognition and unions in the sector unable to bargain on behalf of their members. 

Both legislative changes combined mean 3.3 million workers will be excluded from internationally recognized bargaining rights and 6.5 million workers who work in companies employing less than 30 employees will effectively lose their rights to unionize and bargain.