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Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body
Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body- 58. The Committee last examined this case at its June 2013 meeting [see
368th Report, paras 827–847], when it expressed the expectation that all applications
for the determination of competence to bargain collectively be examined without delay.
With regard to the dismissal of 35 workers from the Togo Footwear Industry and Trade
Inc., the Committee expressed its expectation that any information relating to the
alleged anti-union nature of the dismissals be considered by the courts bearing in mind
the relevant principles of freedom of association; that the decision be handed down in
the very near future and that if the anti-union nature of the dismissals is established,
the workers concerned be reinstated without loss of pay, or if reinstatement is not
possible for objective and compelling reasons, adequate compensation be paid to them;
and requested the Government to provide the relevant court judgment as soon as it is
handed down. It also requested the Government to provide a copy of the inquiry report on
the dismissal of 20 workers from the Ceha Office Furniture Limited Company.
- 59. The Government sent follow-up information in communications dated 6
September 2013 and 5 May 2014. In its 6 September communication, the Government recalls
domestic constitutional and legislative provisions governing the right to establish and
join trade unions and to conclude collective labour agreements. In its 5 May
communication, the Government indicates in general that after the entry into force of
Law No. 6356 (published on 7 November 2012) statistics began to be published regularly
and the problems related to the process of determination of competence for concluding
collective labour agreements were eliminated and notably, that the applications for
certificates of competence presented by Petrol-İş were examined urgently for the
following workplaces, with the outcomes specified:
- ■ for Gripin Pharmaceutical
Co. the certificate of competence was issued on 21 December 2012 and a collective
labour agreement was concluded with its validity extending from 1 September 2012 to
31 August 2014;
- ■ for Elba Plaster Industry and Trade Inc. the certificate
of competence was issued on 24 December 2012 and a collective labour agreement was
concluded with its validity extending from 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2014;
- ■
for Arili Plastic Industry Inc. the certificate of competence was issued on 21
December 2012 and a collective labour agreement was concluded with its validity
extending from 1 September 2012 to 31 August 2014;
- ■ for Saba Industrial
Products Manufacturing and Trade Inc. the certificate of competence was issued on 27
December 2012 and a collective labour agreement was concluded with its validity
extending from 1 January 2013 to 31 August 2014;
- ■ for Reckitt Benckiser
Cleaning Supplies Industry and Trade Inc. the certificate of competence was issued
on 13 December 2012 and a collective labour agreement was concluded with its
validity extending from 1 September 2012 to 31 December 2014;
- ■ for Ürosan
Chemical Industry and Trade Inc. the certificate of competence was issued on 24
December 2012 and a collective labour agreement was concluded with its validity
extending from 1 September 2012 to 31 August 2014;
- ■ for Akin Plastic
Industry and Trade Inc. the certificate of competence was issued on 31 December 2012
and a collective labour agreement was concluded with its validity extending from 1
September 2012 to 31 August 2014;
- ■ for Sandoz Pharmaceutical Industry and
Trade Inc. the certificate of competence was issued on 27 December 2012 and a
collective labour agreement was concluded with its validity extending from 1 January
2013 to 31 December 2014;
- ■ for Plastimak Profiled Injection Industry and
Trade Limited Company the certificate of competence was issued on 24 December 2012
and a collective labour agreement was concluded with its validity extending from 1
July 2012 to 30 June 2014;
- ■ for Plaskar Plastic Injection, Automotive,
Accessories, Transport, Packaging, Molding Industry, Import, Export, Trade and
Industry Inc. the certificate of competence was issued on 17 July 2013;
- ■
for Mehmetçik Foundation Tourism, Oil, Instruction, Health, Food and Trade Limited
Company the certificate of competence was issued on 28 December 2012 and a
collective labour agreement was concluded with its validity extending from 1 October
2012 to 30 September 2014;
- ■ for Plastiform Plastic Industry and Trade Inc.
the certificate of competence was issued on 14 May 2013 and a collective labour
agreement was concluded with its validity extending from 1 January 2013 to 31
December 2015.
- With regard to Erze Packaging and Plastic Industry and Trade Inc.,
the Government indicates that Petrol-İş has failed to renew its application with a
ruling of specific annotation as previously required by the Ministry of Labour and
Social Security [see 368th Report, para. 839].
- 60. With regard to the right to benefit from check-off facilities and the
right to appoint trade union representatives, the Government indicates that with the
enactment of Law No. 6356 and delivery of competence certificates the problem has been
resolved.
- 61. With regard to the consequences of suspension of the right of
collective bargaining on the workers’ freedom of association rights in Togo Footwear
Industry and Trade Inc. (hereinafter the enterprise), the Government reiterates that a
Ministry report indicated that as of 3 April 2012, 33 workers out of 59 were Deri-İş
affiliates. However, a certificate of competence could not be issued due to the
suspension of publication of statistics. The Government further indicates that following
the enactment of Law No. 6356 the Ministry notified the employer that Deri-İş had the
majority required to conclude a collective labour agreement. However, the employer
indicated that because of the high labour cost of its products in Turkey, it shall
reduce the number of its staff in accordance with Article 29 of the Labour Law entitled
“Collective Dismissal”. The Government indicates that in response to this statement of
the employer, the Labour Inspection Board conducted an inspection with a view to analyse
the situation and supervise the collective dismissal process and an inspection report
was prepared, according to which: no collective labour agreement and union activity
existed at the workplace; the workers were not forced to be or not to be a union member;
the employer had no information about their status of union affiliation; and the workers
were not informed about the dismissals. The Government further indicates that the
proceedings before Ankara Third Labour Court are still ongoing and that on 4 June 2012
the Court requested the enterprise to submit the lists showing the dates of recruitment
and termination of employment as well as the dates of resignation from the union of the
workers working in the litigious workplace as of 16 November 2011; and on 6 June the
court requested the submission, if available, of the file of application for conclusion
of a collective labour agreement. The Government further indicates that on 19 July 2012,
the union addressed a communication to the Ministry alleging that the employer had
dismissed all the workers who were its affiliates.
- 62. With regard to Ceha Office Furniture Limited Company, the Government
refers to additional allegations of the trade union claiming that the employer had
recourse to practices aiming at preventing the union to get a competence certificate,
namely that after the union addressed an application for certificate of competence to
the Ministry, 20 affiliated workers were dismissed, while the total number of workers
was raised through new recruitment. In response to these allegations the Ministry
conducted an investigation as a result of which it was determined that on 12 March 2012,
the number of workers employed in the enterprise amounted to 841, among which 351 were
affiliates of United Metal Workers’ Union. The Ministry consequently determined that the
union affiliates did not constitute the majority of workers as required in Article 41 of
Law No. 6356 that defines the notion of competence. The union appealed to the Labour
Court against this decision, requesting its reversal on the grounds that the numbers of
workers and union affiliates relied upon were wrong. An expert report was presented to
the Court according to which between 14 and 19 March 2012 the employer proceeded to
recruit intensively, while a date prior to 12 March was notified as the date of
recruitment and the whole process was a sham. On 7 November 2013 the Court requested the
Ministry to submit membership registration forms and the employed workers’ petitions for
resignation referred to in the expert report. The Ministry duly submitted those
documents and the judicial process is still ongoing.
- 63. The Committee takes note of the information provided by the
Government and welcomes the resumption of publication of statistics and issuance of
certificates of competence by the Ministry of Labour that mark the end of the period of
de facto suspension of collective bargaining rights in the country, and allow trade
unions to once again benefit from check- off facilities and appoint their
representatives. In particular, the Committee notes with satisfaction that certificates
of competence were delivered to Petrol-İş for 12 workplaces and collective agreements
concluded in 11 of those. The Committee takes note of the Government’s indication with
regard to Erze Packaging and Plastic Industry and Trade Inc., that the certificate of
competence could not be delivered as Petrol-İş failed to renew its application with a
ruling of specific annotation as required by the Ministry of Labour and invites the
complainant to provide follow-up information on this particular process.
- 64. With regard to the dismissal of 35 workers from the Togo enterprise,
the Committee notes with concern that more than three years after the alleged anti-union
dismissal of the said workers, the judicial proceedings on the determination of the
nature of dismissals have not yet come to their conclusion. Recalling that justice
delayed is justice denied [see Digest of decisions and principles of the Freedom of
Association Committee, fifth (revised) edition, 2006, para. 105], and that cases
concerning anti-union discrimination should be examined rapidly in order to ensure that
the remedies provided are truly effective, the Committee urges the judicial authorities
to pronounce on the dismissals without further delay so as to avoid a denial of justice
and requests the Government to provide it with a copy of the ruling as soon as it is
handed down.
- 65. The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that the
enterprise has expressed its intention of having recourse to collective dismissals for
economic reasons. The Committee understands that this statement relates to the period
after the enactment of Act No. 6356 (7 November 2012), and hence is posterior to the
abovementioned dismissal of 35 workers that occurred in May 2012. Observing that the
court proceedings in this case are ongoing, the Committee requests the Government to
keep it informed of the outcome.
- 66. With regard to the dismissal of 20 workers from the Ceha Office
Furniture Limited Company, the Committee notes with regret that the Government has not
provided the copy of the inquiry report as requested at its last examination of the case
and reiterates its request to this effect. The Committee further notes the new
information provided by the Government with regard to the exercise of the right to
collective bargaining at the workplace, notably that the United Metal Workers’ Union
initiated judicial proceedings in order to obtain reversal of the Ministry’s rejection
of its application for a certificate of competence, on the grounds that the employer had
recourse to intensive recruitment after the union applied for a certificate of
competence, in order to defeat the majority status of the union at the enterprise. The
Committee trusts that the Court will thoroughly review the allegations of anti-union
actions in this case and requests the Government to provide it with a copy of the
judgment as soon as it is delivered.
- * * *
- 67. Finally, the Committee requests the governments and/or complainants
concerned to keep it informed of any developments relating to the following
cases.
| Case | Last examination on the merits | | Last follow-up examination |
| 1787
(Colombia) | March 2010 | | June 2014 |
| 2096 (Pakistan) | March 2004 | | March 2011 |
| 2362 (Colombia) | March 2010 | | November 2012 |
| 2400
(Peru) | November 2007 | | November 2015 |
| 2434 (Colombia) | March 2009 | | – |
| 2512 (India) | November 2007 | | November 2015 |
| 2528
(Philippines) | June 2012 | | November 2015 |
| 2566 (Islamic Republic
of Iran) | November 2008 | | – |
| 2595 (Colombia) | June 2009 | | October 2013 |
| 2603 (Argentina) | November 2008 | | November 2012 |
| 2637
(Malaysia) | March 2009 | | November 2015 |
| 2652 (Philippines) | November 2003 | | November
2015 |
| 2654 (Canada) | March
2010 | | March 2014 |
| 2679 (Mexico) | June 2010 | | March 2015 |
| 2684
(Ecuador) | June 2014 | | – |
| 2715 (Democratic Republic of the
Congo) | June 2014 | | – |
| 2743 (Argentina) | November
2015 | | – |
| 2755
(Ecuador) | June 2010 | | March 2011 |
| 2756 (Mali) | March
2011 | | November 2015 |
| 2758 (Russian Federation) | November
2012 | | June 2015 |
| 2780 (Ireland) | March 2012 | | – |
| 2786 (Dominican
Republic) | November 2015 | | – |
| 2797 (Democratic Republic of the
Congo) | March 2014 | | – |
| 2815 (Philippines) | November 2012 | | November
2015 |
| 2837 (Argentina) | March
2012 | | November 2015 |
| 2844 (Japan) | June 2012 | | November 2015 |
| 2850
(Malaysia) | March 2012 | | June 2015 |
| 2870 (Argentina) | November 2012 | | June 2015 |
| 2872 (Guatemala) | November 2011 | | – |
| 2892
(Turkey) | March 2014 | | November 2015 |
| 2896 (El Salvador) | June 2015 | | – |
| 2925 (Democratic Republic of the Congo) | March
2014 | | – |
| 2934
(Peru) | November 2012 | | – |
| 2947 (Spain) | March
2015 | | – |
| 2966
(Peru) | November 2013 | | November 2015 |
| 2977 (Jordan) | March 2013 | | November
2015 |
| 2988 (Qatar) | March
2014 | | November 2015 |
| 2991 (India) | June 2013 | | November 2015 |
| 2998
(Peru) | March 2015 | | – |
| 3011 (Turkey) | June
2014 | | November 2015 |
| 3022 (Thailand) | June 2014 | | – |
| 3041 (Cameroon) | November 2014 | | – |
| 3046 (Argentina) | November
2015 | | – |
| 3051
(Japan) | November 2015 | | – |
| 3055 (Panama) | November
2015 | | – |
| 3060
(Mexico) | November 2015 | | – |
| 3072 (Portugal) | November 2015 | | – |
| 3075 (Argentina) | November 2015 | | – |
| 3083
(Argentina) | November 2015 | | – |
| 3087 (Colombia) | November 2015 | | – |
| 3096 (Peru) | November 2015 | | – |
| 3102 (Chile) | November 2015 | | – |
| 3105 (Togo) | June
2015 | | – |
>
- 68. The Committee hopes that these governments will quickly provide the
information requested.
- 69. In addition, the Committee has received information concerning the
follow-up of Cases Nos 1865 (Republic of Korea), 1962 (Colombia), 2086 (Paraguay), 2153
(Algeria), 2341 (Guatemala), 2430 (Canada), 2488 (Philippines), 2540 (Guatemala), 2583
(Colombia), 2656 (Brazil), 2667 (Peru), 2678 (Georgia), 2699 (Uruguay), 2706 (Panama),
2708 (Guatemala), 2710 (Colombia), 2716 (Philippines), 2719 (Colombia),
2725 (Argentina), 2745 (Philippines), 2746 (Costa Rica), 2751 (Panama),
2752 (Montenegro), 2763 (Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela), 2768 (Guatemala),
2788 (Argentina), 2789 (Turkey), 2793 (Colombia), 2807 (Islamic Republic of Iran), 2816
(Peru), 2827 (Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela), 2833 (Peru), 2840 (Guatemala), 2852
(Colombia), 2854 (Peru), 2856 (Peru), 2860 (Sri Lanka), 2871 (El Salvador), 2883 (Peru),
2895 (Colombia), 2900 (Peru), 2915 (Peru), 2916 (Nicaragua), 2917 (Bolivarian Republic
of Venezuela), 2924 (Colombia), 2929 (Costa Rica), 2937 (Paraguay), 2944 (Algeria), 2946
(Colombia), 2947 (Spain), 2952 (Lebanon), 2953 (Italy), 2954 (Colombia), 2960
(Colombia), 2962 (India), 2973 (Mexico), 2979 (Argentina), 2980 (El Salvador), 2985 (El
Salvador), 2992 (Costa Rica), 2995 (Colombia), 2998 (Peru), 2999 (Peru), 3002
(Plurinational State of Bolivia), 3006 (Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela), 3013 (El
Salvador), 3020 (Colombia), 3021 (Turkey), 3026 (Peru), 3030 (Mali), 3033 (Peru), 3036
(Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela), 3039 (Denmark), 3040 (Guatemala), 3043 (Peru), 3054
(El Salvador), 3057 (Canada), 3058 (Djibouti), 3063 (Colombia), 3070 (Benin), 3077
(Honduras), 3084 (Turkey), 3085 (Algeria) and 3101 (Paraguay), which it will examine at
its next meeting.
