Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

Protection of Wages Convention, 1949 (No. 95) - Türkiye (Ratification: 1961)

The Committee notes the information contained in the Government’s detailed report and its attachments, in particular the comments made by the Turkish Confederation of Employer Associations (TISK) and the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (TÜRK-IŞ) on the application of the Convention. It also notes the comments made by the Confederation of Turkish Public Employees Trade Unions (KAMU-SEN), which were appended to the Government’s report received in October 2003. The Committee further notes the adoption of the new Labour Law No. 4857 of 22 May 2003 revising the old Labour Law No. 1475 of 25 August 1971.

Article 12, paragraph 1, of the Convention. Non-payment or delayed payment of wages. The Committee notes that employers’ and workers’ organizations have been commenting for a number of years on problems concerning the non-payment or delayed payment of wages. TÜRK-IŞ indicates that the amounts owed to workers in the form of unpaid or only partially paid wages and social benefits and bonuses are reaching high levels. The situation affects considerable numbers of workers in the private sector but also municipal workers. For KAMU-SEN, the dramatic drop in real wages, mainly because of inflation and increasing production costs, pushes workers to depression. TISK believes that excessive financial obligations, such as high tax and social insurance contributions imposed on registered workers and employers, increase the difference between gross and net wages, and diminish the country’s competitiveness. In fact, Turkey has been on top of the OECD list of countries with the highest labour employment costs: 42.8 per cent of average labour costs have consisted of payroll taxes since 2006, as compared to 27.5 per cent for other OECD countries and 11.7 per cent for EU countries. For TISK, the heavy tax and social insurance burden boost the informal sector and render the economy less competitive.

Concerning these points, the Government states that the delays in the payment of wages are caused mainly by the economic crisis affecting all enterprises or organizations, private or public. The Government also refers to sections 33 and 34 of the new Labour Law as measures to address this situation through legislation. Section 33 establishes a Wages Guarantee Fund within the Unemployment Insurance Fund, which is financed by 1 per cent of the contributions to the unemployment insurance by the employers. Section 34 provides that workers may at their discretion decide not to work if the employer does not pay the wage due within 20 days of the pay day, which must not be construed as a strike or be considered as a ground for termination of the worker’s employment contract, and that an interest at the highest commercial rate must be applied to the sum of wages due to the worker. As regards the situation of wage payment in the public sector, the Government makes reference to the results of a survey by the Ministry of Interior showing that there are nearly 5,500 public officers affected across 188 municipalities involving an amount of approximately 5,781,147 new Turkish liras (approximately US$4.6 million). In this connection, the Government indicates that the legislation regulating the finance and personnel affairs in public administration, such as Act No. 5018 concerning the administration of public finance and audit, and Act No. 5620 on the transfer to permanent posts or contractual personnel status of workers temporarily employed in the public administration, ensures that wages of public officers are paid regularly and in full. The Committee recalls in this connection paragraphs 358 and 366 of its General Survey of 2003 on the protection of wages, in which it pointed out that whatever the intricate causes of the problem of wage arrears, the deferred payment of wages is part of a vicious circle that inexorably affects the entire national economy. The Committee hopes that the Government will continue its efforts for devising appropriate solutions to the problem of delayed or non-payment of wages through social dialogue and better implementation of the labour legislation. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to closely monitor the situation and continue to provide up to date information on the number of workers and types of enterprises affected by accumulated wage arrears and any progress made in settling outstanding payments in both the public and private sector. Finally, the Committee requests the Government to transmit any comments it may wish to make in reply to the latest observations of TISK and TÜRK-IŞ.

Article 15. Enforcement and legal remedies. According to TÜRK-IŞ the difficulties experienced in the protection of workers’ wages are mainly due to the considerable difference between the legal provisions in place and their practical application, or in other words to the lack of effective penalties. In contrast, TISK considers that legal provisions on penalties are sufficient. It also states that the increase of administrative fines would not safeguard the full respect of the wage legislation, as long as the employers are deprived of their financial strength to secure resources for the payment of wages. In this regard, the Government refers to section 102 of the new Labour Law prescribing an administrative fine of 100 Turkish New Lira (TRY) (approximately US$83), to be annually readjusted under section 17 of Act No. 5326 of 30 March 2005, for failure to pay the wages in full. The Government explains that based on these provisions, an employer would currently be liable to a fine of TRY167 (approximately US$138) for each month of non-payment or underpayment of the worker’s wage. It also refers to the possibility to file a complaint with the labour courts under section 61 of Act No. 2822 on collective labour agreements which provides for a lawsuit for payment that carries payment of interest at the highest commercial rate. The Committee would be thankful to the Government for providing statistical information on the number of wage-related cases heard by labour courts and the amounts of wages recovered.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.