the Venice Commission14 concerning timeliness, accessibility, independency and impartiality, thereby failing to constitute effective remedy15,16,17. In the course of the State of Emergency, workers and unions have faced various forms of pressure, restraints, and threats. Using the State of Emergency as an excuse, activities of trade unions and activities led by workers were banned or prevented. A report published by DİSK provides examples of the obstacles its members and other unions faced: ■ For months, workers of the Avcılar Municipality and members of the Türk-İş member Belediye-İş Union had been protesting their dismissals based on union membership. On July 21, 2016, municipal guards prevented them from setting up tents and protesting due to the State of Emergency. ■ A petition entitled “Positions for Seasonal Workers in Çaykur” launched in April 2016 by DİSK member Gıda-İş Union was blocked by the Artvin Governorate in August 2016, citing the State of Emergency. ■ Workers of Tedi AŞ workers in Tuzla who were dismissed because of their membership to Limter-İş Union (DİSK member) set up tents in front of the workplace in protest. On August 12, 2016, on the 10th day of the resistance, private security guards and riot police blocked the workers from protesting at their spot, citing State of Emergency bans and an order issued by the Governor. Workers continued their resistance 100 meters away from the workplace. ■ Workers of MSC/MEDLOG Logistics started a protest against the problems they faced during the unionisation process to/with DİSK member Nakliyatİş Union. They were not allowed to stand in front of their workplace due to the State of Emergency. In response, a press conference was organised on September 28, 2016 in Gemlik; however, it was prevented by the police. Many were taken into custody. 14 https://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/default.aspx?pdffile=CDL-AD(2016)037-e ■ On November 30, 2016, workers who were dismissed from the Yüksek Endüstri factory in Kandıra for being members of Birleşik Metal-İş wanted to hold a press conference in front of the factory. The police interfered due to the State of Emergency, which resulted in a large number of union members, and the union’s leader and representative being taken into custody. ■ On December 11, 2016, a meeting on the collective bargaining process between Birleşik Metal-İş Union and Endüstriyel Metal İşverenleri Sendikası (EMIS) was cancelled in Gebze due to the State of Emergency. ■ Rallies protesting State of Emergency measures and dismissals in the public sector, organised by KESK in Mersin, Samsun, Van, Istanbul, and Izmir on December 10 and 11, 2016, were banned by respective governorates, citing the State of Emergency. ■ A Türk-İş member Petrol-İş Union planned press conference on December 26, 2016 in front of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources was cancelled due to the State Emergency. The Ankara Governorate blocked the conference on the grounds that “it could be a terrorist activity.” Additionally, workers from Batman and Adıyaman were not allowed to travel to Ankara to join the press conference. ■ The Nakliyat-İş Union notified the District Governorate of Kocaeli Gebze on December 31, 2016 that they are planning to raise the minimum wage demands of its member workers. The demands were rejected, citing that Kocaeli Governorate State of Emergency Office has banned all actions/activities until December 31, 2017. ■ In 2017, 1st of May demonstrations, traditionally been held in city centres throughout the country for many years, were banned in Anatolian cities such as Adana, Çorum, Gaziantep, Hakkari by respective their Governorates. The Governorates banned all kinds of demonstrations and activities on May 1st on the ground that these may lead to “security problems created by terrorist organisations.” 15 https://hrf.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Turkey-ECtHR-Report_April-2019.pdf 16 https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/EUR4492102018ENGLISH.PDF 17 https://www.turkeylitigationsupport.com/blog/2019/10/15/access-to-justice-in-turkey-a-review-of-the-state-ofemergency-inquiry-commissionnbsp 26 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 ■ On June 7, 2017 DİSK organised simultaneous press conferences in several cities entitled “severance pay is our job security, don’t touch it!” In Gaziantep the conference was prevented, referring to the State of Emergency. T H E P I C T U R E O F L A B O U R R I G H T S V I O L AT I O N S I N T U R K E Y 27