who are not able work (unemployed people + workers who appeared to be employed but not able to work) based on ILO’s method.79 In April 2020, when lockdown measures were still in place, the number of “Broadly Defined Number of Unemployed and Employment Losses Revised with the Covid-19 Effect” exceeded 17.7 million.80 This means that Covid-19 led to at least 10.7 million “equivalent job losses” and unemployed compared to the April 2019.81 From early June 2020, with the beginning of softened lockdown measures, the rate of employment loss decreased. As a result the “Broadly Defined Number of Unemployed and Employment Losses Revised with the Covid-19 Effect” was calculated to be 14.2 million in June 2020 and 9.93 million in September 2020. 82,83 This steep growth of unemployment weakened the power of workers against widespread rights violations in the workplaces. It suppressed their motivation for seeking their rights collectively, becoming a union member, and demanding effective measures against Covid-19. The increase in the number of unemployed or out of work, in absolute terms, made compensation in case of lost or reduced income a matter of survival for many of them. The policies developed by the government in this regard in accordance with the social state principle enshrined in the Constitution became vital for them. In 79 ILO Monitor: COVID-19 and the world of work. Second edition - https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/--dcomm/documents/briefingnote/wcms_740877.pdf 80 http://disk.org.tr/2020/07/temmuz-2020-issizlik-ve-istihdam-raporu-turkiye-tarihinin-en-buyuk-issizligi/ (Access: 01.08.2020) 81 The definition of equivalent employment loss used here is made with reference to the ILO’s method of calculating employment loss as a result of Covid-19, by converting the non-working time due to Covid-19 to equivalent full-time employment. Only those seeking job in the last 4 weeks before the reference week of the research is considered unemployed by TurkStat. However, in the Covid-19 lockdown, millions of workers appeared to be employed due to the short-time working allowance and unpaid leave allowance, rather than layoffs. According to the TurkStat’s method, workers who receive short-time working allowance and unpaid leave allowance are not considered unemployed because they are not looking for a job. Although late March 2020, the government announced a package on the issue. The social package, containing worker-related regulations, came into force with the Law No. 7226 of 25/03/2020, and Law No. 7244 of 16/04/2020. Law No. 7226 allowed for a partial improvement of conditions due to short-time working allowance. This was a mechanism under the Unemployment Insurance Fund, which aimed to compensate loss of income of workers due to a reduction in working time. February 29, 2020 was the determined starting date of “Covid-19” allowance; it was considered a force majeure according to the criteria laid down in the applicable legislation. Short-time working allowance is paid from Unemployment Insurance Funds to the workers, only if the working hours in a work place are decreased by one-third of the ordinary working hours or the business operations of a work place have been wholly or partially suspended for at period of at least 4-weeks due to general economic, sectoral or regional crisis or a force majeure event. This mechanism, first intended to end on June 30, 2020, has been extended till the end of February 2021. Law No. 7244 introduced the cash wage support mechanism for those who could not benefit from short-time working allowance and unemployment allowance. Termination of employment contracts was also prohibited, except for cases falling under Article 25/II of the Labour Law. The Article grants employers rightful termination in cases against morality and bona fide rules (called “prohibition of termination of employment contracts” in the public). Employers were also granted a right to send workers on unpaid leave; this was not a part of the legislation beforehand. The practice of sending workers on unpaid leave and providing cash support during this period meant that workers could not claim their compensation rights if they quit and attempted to find a new job. The unpaid leave allowance mechanism, which began in April 2020, extended to the end of March 2021 by the President. Workers who went on unpaid leave had to live on approximately TL 1200 per month (approximately half the net minimum wage of 2020). 3.5 million workers have received short-time working allowance and 1.8 million workers have received unpaid leave allowance (cash wage support) so far, İŞKUR has not regarded these people as unemployed, even though they were not actually working. (aforementioned DISK-Ar report) 82 http://arastirma.disk.org.tr/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/D%C4%B0SK-AR-Eyl%C3%BCl-2020-%C4%B0%C5%9Fsizlikve-%C4%B0stihdam%C4%B1n-G%C3%B6r%C3%BCn%C3%BCm%C3%BC-Raporu-Son.pdf 83 http://arastirma.disk.org.tr/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/D%C4%B0SK-AR-2020-Aral%C4%B1k-%C4%B0%C5%9Fsizlikve-%C4%B0stihdam%C4%B1n-G%C3%B6r%C3%BCn%C3%BCm%C3%BC-Raporu.pdf 72 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 At the same time, some periods applied in the collective bargaining procedures under the Law on Trade Unions and Collective Bargaining were extended. In practice, this meant suspension of collective bargaining processes. According to calculations made by scholar Assoc. Prof. Aziz Çelik based SUMMARY ON THE GENERAL SITUATION OF WORKERS’ RIGHTS AND VIOLATIONS IN THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC 73