TEKGIDA-İŞ Union Brings ‘Zero Tolerance for Violence Principle’ to Life through ILO Trainings

The “Zero Tolerance to Violence Trade Union Policy Paper” developed jointly by TEKGIDA-İŞ Trade Union and the International Labour Organization (ILO) Türkiye Office in line with the Convention No. 190 on the Elimination of Violence and Harassment was signed by the union management and put into practice during the “Zero Tolerance to Violence at Work Training” organized by the ILO Türkiye Office on 24-25 June 2024 in Istanbul.

The ILO Office Türkiye, with the support of Sweden, launched a large-scale advocacy campaign as part of the “More and Better Jobs for Women” Programme to prevent violence and harassment in the world of work and to promote awareness and ratification of Convention No. 190, and has organized “Zero Tolerance to Violence at Work Trainings” for trade unions, the private sector and civil society organizations.

As a result of the Convention No.190 trainings, social partners, the private sector and civil society organizations in Türkiye have taken concrete steps to integrate the provisions of the Convention into their institutional policies (through policy documents, collective agreements, etc.) and carried out works towards its implementation, even though it has not yet been ratified by Türkiye.

In this direction, the “TEKGIDA-İŞ Zero Tolerance to Violence Policy Paper,” which was created following the two-day “Zero Tolerance to Violence at Work Training” organized for TEKGIDA-İŞ Trade Union, was signed with the participation of TEKGIDA-İŞ General President Mustafa Türkel, General Secretary Kemal Köse, General Education Secretary Engin Öz and Central Women's Committee Chair Meryem Yücel, as well as ILO Türkiye Office Gender Analyst Dr.Ayşe Emel Akalın and Federation of Women's Associations of Türkiye (TKDF) Chairwoman Canan Güllü. It also entered into force to be implemented within the union and in workplaces where the union is organized.

The steps towards the adoption of the policy paper demonstrate the commitment of many unions, including TEKGIDA-İŞ Union, to combat violence and harassment in the world of work, and concretely demonstrate the impact and importance of the ILO technical support and training.

TKDF Chairwoman Canan Güllü, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ceyhun Güler from Izmir Dokuz Eylül University, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Seher Demirkaya from Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey University and TKDF Legal Advisor Lawyer Umut Çiftçi delivered trainings and presentations on combating violence and harassment from a participatory perspective during the training.