Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Türkiye (Ratification: 1998)

The Committee notes the observations of the Turkish Confederation of Employers’ Associations (TİSK) and the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (TURK-IS) communicated by the Government with its report as well as the observations of the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DISK) received on 30 August 2023.

Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention. 1. Obligation to work overtime. The Committee notes that, in its observations, the DISK alleges that forced overtime is quite common. The DISK refers to section 9 of the Regulation On Overtime Work And Overtime Periods Related To Labor Law, which allows employers to impose overtime on workers if a written consent for overtime work is obtained from the employee during the conclusion of the employment contract and is kept in the employee’s personnel file. The employee who does not want to do overtime work may withdraw his/her consent provided that he/she notifies the employer in writing thirty days in advance. The DISK alleges that the approval of the worker during the conclusion of the employment contract is given under the menace of not getting the job. The DISK considers that workers are forced to sign a written approval document during the process of recruitment which also indicates that overtime is included in the wages. Therefore, workers are forced to perform overtime without any extra pay. The DISK indicates that this has been a common practice for a majority of non-unionized workplaces. It also refers to a court decision of 2017 which stated that “if the workers job contract indicates that overtime is also included in their wages then the company doesn’t have to pay overtime”.

The Committee recalls that overtime does not affect the application of the Convention so long as it respects the limits permitted by national legislation or collective agreements and requests the Government to provide information on measures taken to assess the manner in which section 9 of the Regulation On Overtime Work And Overtime Periods Related To Labor Law is applied in practice and to ensure that it does not lead to abusive practices.

2. Migrant domestic workers. The Committee notes that DISK, in its observations indicates that it is common practice for migrant domestic workers that their employers take their passport as a way of keeping them under their control. In this way, they cannot leave their jobs or they cannot complain about violations of their rights or crimes committed against them at their workplaces. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to monitor and prevent passport confiscation by employers and to provide information on the number of violations detected, the number of prosecutions and specific penalties imposed. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on any complaint mechanism available to migrant domestic workers to enable them to assert their rights whenever they face any form of exploitation or violation of their basic rights.

Article 2(2)(c) of the Convention. Work of prisoners for private entities. In its previous comments, the Committee observed that the Act on the Execution of Penalties and Security Measures No. 5275 and its corresponding regulations do not appear to require the free, informed and formal consent of prisoners when they work for private enterprises. The Committee notes the Government’s information in its report that as per Law No.7242 of 2020 Amending the Law on Execution of Penalties and Security Measures and Some Other Laws, convicts in open penitentiary institutions can be employed in areas of public institutions and organizations under the supervision of penitentiary institution officials by staying overnight in a facility belonging to another institution. The Government states that consent is a prerequisite for convicts in open penitentiary institutions to work and that they are paid daily and are provided with occupational accident, occupational disease and maternity insurance and the institutions and organizations employing them are under the obligation to pay premiums.

The Committee also notes that TISK, in its communication, indicates that pursuant to section 81 of the Regulation on the Administration of Penal Institutions and the Execution of Penal and Security Measures of 2020, prisoners without a profession and those with a profession who so wish, who are deemed mentally and physically healthy by the penal institution physician, may be employed in workshops and workplaces for wages determined according to the institution’s means. Pursuant to section 83, prisoners may be employed in workshops, facilities and similar units inside the institution or belonging to external workplaces, or in other workplaces outside the institution. The TISK states that employment outside the institution shall take place within the framework of a protocol to be agreed and signed between the employer and the head of the workshop in institutions that have workshops, or the local Prosecutor in institutions that do not have workshops. Matters to be covered in the protocol shall include inter alia the wages (which shall not be less than the minimum wage for those aged sixteen and over), working hours, transport, subsistence, security and the duration of the protocol. The TISK further states that according to the Regulation working security shall be provided by the employer who has full legal liability for industrial accidents and occupational diseases. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the manner in which convicted prisoners in open penitentiary institutions who work outside the institutions for private enterprises provide their free, formal and informed consent to the work. The Committee also requests the Government to provide a copy of Law No.7242 of 2020 Amending the Law on Execution of Penalties and Security Measures and Other Laws and the Regulation on the Administration of Penal Institutions and the Execution of Penal and Security Measures of 2020.

Article 2(2)(d). Powers to call up labour in cases of emergency. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, according to section 10(1) of the State of Emergency Act (No. 2935 of 1983), in the event of serious economic crises, the Council of Ministers might issue decrees to determine measures and obligations in relation to labour. The Committee notes the Government’s information that according to the provisions under section 10 of the State of Emergency Act, a Presidential Decree may be issued in the event of a state of emergency due to severe economic depression to manage the markets of goods, capital and services with the aim of regulating and improving the economy and follow-up of all kinds of measures and obligations regarding tax, money, credit, rent, wage and price policies and work.

While taking note of this information, the Committee recalls that the concept of emergency – as indicated by the enumeration of examples in Article 2(2)(d) of the Convention – involves a sudden, unforeseen happening calling for instant countermeasures. The notion of a “serious economic crisis”, referred to in the above provisions, and in the examples provided by the Government do not seem to satisfy these criteria. Therefore, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to amend the legislation to remove any possibility of imposing work in situations of “serious economic crisis”, in conformity with Article 2(2)(d) of the Convention.

Article 2(2)(e). Minor communal services. The Committee previously referred to the need to amend section 13 of the Village Affairs Act No. 442 which provides for “mandatory works for villagers”, including building and repairing roads and building bridges. The Committee notes that the Government reiterates that the Turkish local administration system entered a major transformation and restructuring process and that the duties of the village administration have lost their meaning or are now carried out by Special Provincial Administrations and local administrations. However, with a view to regulate the village administration system, a draft Village Act has been prepared taking into account the social demands and needs. The Committee hopes that the draft Village Act will be adopted in the near future and that it would take into consideration the criteria laid down under Article 2(2)(e) of the Convention concerning the exception of “minor communal services (minor services performed in the direct interest of the community, and following consultation with the said community). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any progress made in this regard.