An Overview of Legal Developments Regarding Freedom of Association of Civil Servants in Turkey in the Light of the Decisions of the European Court of Human Rights
Ayşe Ledün AkdenizThere are many decisions of the ECHR regarding to the freedom of association of civil servants. In this area, especially the Grand Chamber’s decision of “Demir and Baykara” is considered as a cornerstone. It has been observed that Turkey is a party in many disputes brought before the ECtHR regarding freedom of association of civil servants. Accordingly, in this study, some decisions of the ECtHR in which the Court held that Turkey violated “the right to freedom of assembly and association” under Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights are mentioned briefly and recent important legal developments regarding the right of civil servants to organize and to bargain collectively in Turkey are stated. On the other hand, the decisions of Council of State and the Constitutional Court in Turkey regarding short-term work stoppages of civil servants are noteworthy. In some of these decisions, short-term (lasting one or two days) work stoppages in accordance with a decision of a trade union are considered as an excuse. However, it is still not possible to state that these recent developments are completely in coherence with the principles set forth in the decisions of the ECtHR.
Ein Überblick über die Rechtsentwicklungen zur Vereinigungsfreiheit im öffentlichen Dienst der Türkei im Lichte der Urteile des Europäischen Gerichtshofs für Menschenrechte
Ayşe Ledün AkdenizIn Bezug auf die Vereinigungsfreiheit der Beschäftigten im öffentlichen Dienst gibt es viele Urteile des EGMR. Insbesondere das Urteil „Demir und Baykara“ hat hier eine leitende Rolle gespielt. Die bisherige Rechtsprechung zur Vereinigungsfreiheit im öffentlichen Dienst wurde maßgeblich durch Fälle gegen die Türkei geprägt. Dementsprechend werden in diesem Beitrag ein paar EGMR-Urteile, in denen der Gerichtshof festgestellt hat, dass die Türkei „das Recht auf Versammlungs- und Vereinigungsfreiheit“ gemäß Art. 11 der Europäischen Menschenrechtskonvention verletzte, summarisch erwähnt und jüngste wichtige rechtliche Entwicklungen in Bezug auf das Recht Koalition und Kollektivvertrag von Beschäftigten im öffentlichen Dienst, behandelt. Andererseits sind die Entscheidungen des Oberverwaltungsgerichts und des Verfassungsgerichts über kurzfristige Arbeitsniederlegungen von Angehörigen im öffentlichen Dienst von Bedeutung. In einigen dieser Entscheidungen werden kurzfristige (ein oder zwei-tägige) Arbeitsniederlegungen der Lehrer und Lehrerinnen für zulässig erachtet, wenn sie im Rahmen einer von der Gewerkschaft organisierten und angekündigten Aktion erfolgten. Es kann jedoch immer noch nicht behauptet werden, dass diese jüngsten Rechtsentwicklungen in völliger Übereinstimmung mit den in den Entscheidungen des EGMR festgelegten Grundsätzen stehen.
Avrupa Insan Hakları Mahkemesi Kararları Işığında Türkiye’de Kamu Görevlilerinin Sendikal Özgürlüğüne Ilişkin Yasal Gelişmelere Genel Bir Bakış
Ayşe Ledün AkdenizAİHM’nin kamu görevlilerinin sendikal hakları konusunda vermiş olduğu pek çok kararı bulunmaktadır. Bu alanda özellikle, Büyük Daire’nin “Demir ve Baykara” isimli kararının yol gösterici nitelik taşıdığı kabul edilmektedir. Kamu görevlilerinin sendikal özgürlüklerine ilişkin olarak, AİHM’nin önüne gelen uyuşmazlıkların pek çoğunda Türkiye’nin taraf olduğu görülmektedir. Bu doğrultuda çalışmamızda, AİHM’nin, Avrupa İnsan Hakları Sözleşmesi’nin 11. maddesinde düzenlenen “Toplantı ve dernek kurma özgürlüğü”nün Türkiye tarafından ihlal edildiği sonucuna vardığı bir kısım karara kısaca yer verilmiş ve yakın zamanda Türkiye’de kamu görevlilerinin sendikalaşma ve toplu sözleşme haklarına ilişkin önemli yasal gelişmeler aktarılmıştır. Öte yandan Danıştay ve Anayasa Mahkemesi’nin de kamu görevlilerinin kısa süreli iş bırakmalarına ilişkin ilgi çekici kararları bulunmaktadır. Bazı kararlarda öğretmenlerin sendikanın aldığı bir karar sonucunda kısa süreli (bir ya da iki günlük) iş bırakmalarının mazeret olarak kabul edildiği görülmektedir. Ancak yine de yakın zamana ilişkin bu gelişmelerin, AİHM kararlarında yer verilen esaslar ile tam olarak uyumlu bir halde olduğunu söylemek mümkün gözükmemektedir.
The jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights bears a certain relevance to the national legal systems of the member states of the Council of Europe. Many decisions of the European Court of Human Rights pertain to the freedom of association of civil servants. In particular, the Grand Chamber’s decision of “Demir Baykara” is considered to be a cornerstone in this area. The Grand Chamber has decided in this case that the freedom of association under Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights includes the right to form a trade union and become a member of a trade union. It has been observed that Turkey is a party to many disputes brought before the European Court of Human Rights regarding the freedom of association of civil servants. The cases are related to the forming of unions, the temporary work stoppage of civil servants and the effective exercise of the right to freedom of assembly and association in the civil service. This study gives a brief overview of some decisions of the European Court of Human Rights in which the Court held that Turkey violated “the right to freedom of assembly and association” under Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
In Turkish law, numerous legislative changes, including amendments to the Constitution, have taken place in recent years. The restrictions on freedom of association have been abolished step by step. The abolishment of the restrictions on freedom of association was initiated by individual efforts of citizens and trade unions in the civil service. In accordance with legal developments, trade union confederations can conclude collective agreements in the civil service, but their members are not allowed to strike. A right to strike is a foreign term to the Law on Trade Unions and Collective Agreements of Civil Servants No.4688. If the parties cannot agree upon and conclude a collective agreement, they must apply to the Arbitration Committee of Civil Servants and a protocol must be submitted thereto. The agreement concluded after negotiation with the Arbitration Committee of Civil Servants is binding as a collective agreement. Therefore, the Law on Trade Unions and Collective Agreements of Civil Servants No.4688, as well as the relevant legislation, needs to be revised. This need for reform has long been emphasized in the academic literature. This study outlines recent important legal developments regarding the right of civil servants to organize and to bargain collectively in Turkey.
freedom of association was initiated by individual efforts of citizens and trade unions in the civil service. In accordance with legal developments, trade union confederations can conclude collective agreements in the civil service, but their members are not allowed to strike. A right to strike is a foreign term to the Law on Trade Unions and Collective Agreements of Civil Servants No.4688. If the parties cannot agree upon and conclude a collective agreement, they must apply to the Arbitration Committee of Civil Servants and a protocol must be submitted thereto. The agreement concluded after negotiation with the Arbitration Committee of Civil Servants is binding as a collective agreement. Therefore, the Law on Trade Unions and Collective Agreements of Civil Servants No.4688, as well as the relevant legislation, needs to be revised. This need for reform has long been emphasized in the academic literature. This study outlines recent important legal developments regarding the right of civil servants to organize and to bargain collectively in Turkey.
The aim of this study is to represent the influence of these decisions on Turkish law and to describe the current law in Turkey in this context. The study concludes that it is still not possible to state that these recent developments are completely in coherence with the principles set forth in the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights.
