2021 Report of the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations is Released
The report presents the analyses relating to the implementation of international labour
standards at country level with reference to observations provided by governments, and
employers’ and workers’ associations. The situation in Turkey this year has been assessed in
the context of 16 ILO Conventions, which are of critical importance in terms of promoting
core labour rights, addressing labour inspection, freedom of association and unionization,
right to organize and collective bargaining, non-discrimination, workers’ representatives,
occupational safety and health, child labour and gender equality.
ANKARA - The 2021 Report is released of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR).
The report prepared by the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations, whose work constitutes the cornerstone of the ILO’s supervisory system on international labour standards, provides a legislative and practical analysis of how international labour standards are implemented by member states around the world, with specific reference to observations provided by governments, and employers’ and workers’ associations.
In the report, Turkey is assessed with reference to 16 ILO Conventions, which are of critical importance in terms of promoting core labour rights, addressing occupational safety and health, labour inspection, freedom of association and unionization, right to organize and collective bargaining, non-discrimination, workers’ representatives, child labour and gender equality.
The Committee’s report places special emphasis on the number of Occupational Safety and Health inspections as well as work accidents and occupational diseases in Turkey with reference to ILO Convention No. 81, underlining the need to increase the number of labour inspectors. Furthermore, the restrictions placed on human rights and impact of such restrictions on the freedoms and rights of workers receive extensive coverage in the 2021 report, as was the case in previous years. With reference to ILO Conventions No. 87 and 98, the report specifically discusses the issues of restriction and prohibition of the right to strike, prevention of protests, and restriction of the freedom of association with particular emphasis on the collective dismissals in the public sector through state of emergency decrees in the aftermath of the attempted coup of 15 July 2016 and that the orders of collective dismissal given by the Inquiry Commission on State of Emergency Actions and Ankara Administrative Courts are closely monitored by the Committee.
Another issue that is discussed in the report with regard to Turkey is workers’ rights to establish and join trade unions of their own choosing and the need to grant this right to all public servants without distinction. Emphasizing the current situation of the prison staff, the Commission recalls in the report the need to ensure they are effectively represented by the organizations of their choice. The Commission also underlines the need to guarantee freedom of association in the private sector as well as in the public sector, recommending that the Government take various actions with a view to ensuring further protection against anti-union discrimination.
Assessing Turkey’s practices in terms of promoting gender equality, the Committee welcomes the works under the “More and Better Jobs for Women: Women’s Empowerment Through Decent Work in Turkey” programme implemented by ILO and ISKUR and financed by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), once again referring to the need for the Government to maintain its relations with social partners. In this context, the Committee requests that the Government take further action to ensure and support the development of childcare and family facilities, noting with concern that women are being dismissed or threatened to be dismissed because of pregnancy or taking full maternity leave in Turkey.
Finally, taking into consideration that 2021 is the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour, the report gives extensive coverage on child labour in Turkey, assessing the Government’s actions for combatting child labour. The details of the observations of the Committee and the full report is accessible here. Turkish translation of the Turkey section of the Committee report is accessible here.
Conventions relevant to Turkey:
Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) (ratification: 1998)
Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) (ratification: 1951)
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) (ratification: 1993)
Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) (ratification: 1952)
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) (ratification: 1967)
Guarding of Machinery Convention, 1963 (No. 119) (ratification: 1967)
Maximum Weight Convention, 1967 (No. 127) (ratification: 1975)
Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155) (ratification: 2005)
Occupational Health Services Convention, 1985 (No. 161) (ratification: 2005)
Safety and Health in Construction Convention, 1988 (No. 167) (ratification: 2015)
Safety and Health in Mines Convention, 1995 (No. 176) (ratification: 2015)
Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 2006 (No. 187) (ratification: 2014)
Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) (ratification: 1998)
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) (ratification: 2001)
What does the Committee of Experts do?
International labour standards, consisting of Conventions, Protocols to Conventions and Recommendations, are universal instruments adopted by the international community and reflecting common values and principles on work-related issues. While ILO member States may choose whether or not to ratify an ILO Convention, the ILO considers it important to keep track of developments in all countries, whether or not they have ratified them.
Once a country has ratified an ILO convention, it is obliged to report regularly on measures it has taken to implement it. Within the ILO supervisory system, the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR or Committee of Experts) is an independent body responsible for conducting the technical examination of the compliance of member States with provisions of ratified Conventions and Protocols. Established in 1926, CEACR is presently composed of 20 legal experts from different geographical regions, representing different legal systems and cultures.
The Committee of Experts undertakes an impartial and technical analysis of how international labour standards are applied in law and practice by member States, while cognizant of different national realities and legal systems. In doing so, it must determine the legal scope and content of the provisions of the Conventions.
When examining the application of international labour standards, the Committee of Experts makes two kinds of comments: Observations and direct requests. Observations contain comments on fundamental questions raised by the application of a particular Convention by a State. These observations are published in the annual report of the Committee of Experts. Direct requests relate to more technical questions or requests for further information. They are not published in the report but are communicated directly to the governments concerned.
The Reports of the Committee of Experts since 1932 are accessible here.
