Milli güvenlik gerekçeli grev ertelemeleri

This article aims to explore the postponement of strikes by the government on the ground of the national security in Turkey. The article of 54 of the Turkish Constitution and the article 33 of the Act No. 2822 allow the government to postpone any strike or lockout for sixty days if it is deemed to endanger “national security and public health". The article 33 is not applied only to essential services the interruption of which would endanger the life, safety and health of the whole or part of the population but also it is applied to any ordinary strike in any service or industry. Moreover, "postponement" of any strike under this legislation usually means an indefinite ban in practice, the law empowers the Labour Ministry to impose arbitration at the end of sixty days, unless the parties have either come to an agreement or voluntarily sought arbitration. It means that it is extremely difficult to exercise the right to strike in Turkey and Turkish legislation regarding right to strike is not in conformity with the C87 and C98 of ILO. In practice, postponement of strikes in Turkey is not an exceptional situation but a routine application of all kind of governments in Turkey since 1960’s. These postponements mean a clear violation of basic trade union rights. The postponement of strikes on the ground of national security threatens not only the right to strike but also the right to collective bargaining. This legislation has been used to undermine trade unions rights for years. Admittedly the postponement of strikes in Turkey is based on the ground of the pressure on governments derived from employers’ organisations. In line with the employers’ pressure Turkish governments often misuse the legislation as a hindrance to any strike on the ground of pure economic reasons.

Strike ,

Postponement of strikes ,

National security ,

Right to strike ,