Turkey must end child labour
Brussels, 10 December 2007:
The government of Turkey has serious work
to do when it comes to both legislation and practice dealing with the
country’s trade unions and the conditions of its workers, a new ITUC
report makes clear. Released to coincide with the Trade Policy Review
of Turkey at the World Trade Organisation, the report finds that Turkey
continues to limit workers’ rights to organise in trade unions and for
their unions to bargain collectively, that the Turkish labour market is
marred by various forms of discrimination and that hundreds of
thousands of children are engaged in work they shouldn’t be.
“Considering Turkey’s ambitions of joining the European Union, we
are puzzled by the fact that Turkey still restricts trade union
freedom. The European Commission has repeatedly noted that Turkey must
make progress in this area. We can only agree wholeheartedly”, said Guy
Ryder, General Secretary of the ITUC.
“Turkey excludes many of its citizens, particularly public sector
workers, from being members of unions. Its police and other authorities
meddle in trade union activities, making a mockery of the nominal
freedom of association in the country. Again and again, the state
obstructs collective agreements negotiated between unions and local
authorities, in spite of rulings against this practice by the European
Court of Human Rights. Turkey needs to improve its importance a long
way in order to adhere to the international standards and conventions
the country has signed up to”, said Ryder.
Other flaws in relation to the respect of workers’ rights that the
Turkish government must address include insufficient protection against
anti-union discrimination and significant restrictions on the right to
strike.
The report also shows that although by law there is no
discrimination between men and women, in practice women are
concentrated in low quality and low paid jobs, particularly in the
private sector. There is a salary gap and an educational gap between
women and men, with illiteracy among women being much higher than among
men.
“While Turkey’s laws may not directly place women in a weaker
position, the legal framework remains inadequate to deal with the fact
that women are in this situation and that they face discrimination,
harassment and abuse on a daily basis”, said Ryder.
The report finds that while there has been some progress, child
labour continues to be a problem in Turkey. The most recent statistics
show that 764,000 children between 12 and 17 are at work, primarily on
family farms, in industry and in unregistered activities. There are
large numbers of street children working as street vendors or in forced
begging. Though efforts to reduce child labour continue, these appear
to be insufficient and there are shortcomings in the current
legislation.
To read the ITUC report on Core Labour Standards in Turkey please click here
