“Promoting Collective Bargaining Convention” (No.154) and related “Collective Bargaining Recommendation” (No.163), adopted in 1981, the ILO introduced provisions that promote collective bargaining, define its broad scope, create free bargaining conditions, and strengthen the exercise of the right. However Turkey has yet to ratify these conventions. In addition, several ILO documents also recognize and support the right to collective bargaining. Moreover, the Committee on Freedom of Association (CFA), which oversees the implementation of the conventions, has underlined several aspects of the right to collective bargaining and the right to collective agreements. In its various decisions the Committee states that the right to free collective bargaining is a fundamental aspect of freedom of association. It defines a large section of workers, including public workers, who can exercise the right to collective bargaining. Source: ILO - [ILO Headquarter between the years of 1940-1948] The right to collective bargaining and the right to collective agreements also have a strong legal basis at the European level. Article 6 of the Revised European Social Charter regulates the right to collective bargaining in detail. It obliges Signatory States to adopt laws that enable the effective exercise of the right to collective bargaining. Judgments of the ECtHR also consider the right to collective bargaining and agreement as part of, and inseparable from, freedom of association. In the 2000’s several important rulings were made by the ECtHR in this regard, a number of which relate to Turkey. Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights defines the right to form and join trade unions as a fundamental right in the context of the freedom of assembly and association. Article 5 of the Revised European Social Charter guarantees the right for workers to organise. Article 1 of ILO Convention No. 87 on “Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise” defines the freedom and its scope and provides its signatories the obligation to “take all necessary and appropriate measures to ensure that workers and employers may exercise freely the right to organise.” According to Article 1 of ILO’s “Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining 18 C O L L E C T I V E R I G H T S O F W O R K E R S U N D E R T U R K E Y ’ S C O N T I N U O U S S TAT E O F E M E R G E N C Y T R A D E U N I O N R I G H T S I N E U R O P E A N A N D E U R O P E A N - A F F I L I AT E D E N T E R P R I S E S Convention (No. 98) “Workers shall enjoy adequate protection against acts of anti-union discrimination in respect of their employment.” As stated above, international conventions, which have been ratified by Turkey, recognize the right of freedom of association as a fundamental right. These conventions impose a duty on its signatories to “take appropriate measures” to enable the free enjoyment of this freedom and provide “adequate protection” against antiunion discrimination. The freedom of association protects both individual workers’ right to freely form or join unions and the unions’ right to continue to exist. The functional operation of a union requires unionisation efforts and the ability to engage in collective bargaining with the employer on behalf of workers. Freedom of association protects workers’ right to both join unions and not be dismissed for joining unions. It is therefore meant to guarantee both the individual and collective rights of association. Accordingly, the ECtHR judgements also recognize unions’ right to voice their opinions/concerns and be heard on behalf of workers.6 6 ASTARLI, Muhittin. “Avrupa İnsan Hakları Mahkemesinin Sendika Hakkının Etkili Korunmasına İlişkin Tek Gıda İş Sendikası/ Türkiye Kararı Ve Türk Hukuku Bakımından Çıkarımlar.” [Tek Gıda İs Union v Turkey Judgment of the European Court Of Human Rights Concerning The Effective Protection of Freedom of Association in Unions and Its Implications in Turkish Law]. Çalışma ve Toplum, 2019/2. T H E L E G A L F R A M E W O R K O F T H E S TAT E O F E M E R G E N C Y A N D I T S L I M I T S 19