"Lack of Occupational Safety Hinders EU Process"

Prof. Dr. Cengiz Aktar from Istanbul Politics Center, emphasized on the importance of the unions in order to ensure occupational safety and remarked that the obstacles in unionization also hinder the EU membership process.

“Unionization is an EU criteria”

Prof. Dr. Aktar pointed out that Chapter 19 on Social Policy and Employment of European Union is one of the three chapters which do not have any political obstacle in front of them, but it hasn’t started yet.

“To start Chapter 19, the most important criteria are the right of unionization and Collective Bargaining Agreement.  Europe hasn’t given an inch to start this chapter yet, because there are enormous impedances on unionization in Turkey.  

Even though there have been new legal regulations, Europe doesn’t find it sufficient.  Previously, a union was required to organize 50 percent + 1 of the employees in a certain work for obtaining the authorization of Collective Bargaining.  This number is so high, despite the last regulations. Since the 1980 coup d'état, the unions in Turkey have damaged a lot, but this situation didn’t change during AKP government. Moreover today, the government is establishing its own unions,” said Prof. Dr. Aktar.

“ILO agreements are EU criteria”

Prof Dr. Aktar continued to his speech by emphasizing the importance of unions for the occupational health and safety, when considering the workplace murder in Soma mine in which 301 workers died.

“Unions are functional concerning the occupational health and safety issue; because they function as third party. However in Turkey, unionization is like trying to swim upstream. Actually the reason of the rise in occupational accidents in Turkey is this, in other words there is no third party who could say ‘hold on’ to the employers,” noted Prof. Dr. Aktar. 

Prof. Dr. Aktar stated that Turkey will be supposed to sign all international labor law agreements upon the start of Chapter 19. 

“Turkey has signed just three of the twenty agreements of International Labor Organization (ILO). International agreements are necessary criteria that have to be fulfilled by Turkey in order to initiate negotiations, even though they aren’t opening criteria. Turkey should sign all international labor agreements”.

Prof. Dr. Aktar expressed that the opening of Chapter 19 of EU will be effective in terms of signing the ILO agreements and eliminating the impedances on unionization. 

After the workplace murder in Soma, it became current issue that Turkey has not signed the ILO “Safety and Health in Mines Convention, No. 176” yet.

The petition has still gone on to create a pressure on Turkey in order to sign the agreement. (EA/CB/BM)

* Click here to read the article in Turkish.