In the 2019 survey of ITUC, Turkey was among the worst ten countries for workers’ rights. The report ranks the ten worst countries for workers’ rights in 2019 as Algeria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Kazakhstan, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Zimbabwe and Turkey, and covers violations of workers’ rights in Turkey widely. The report also cites Turkey among 54 countries that deny or constrain the rights to freedom of speech and association. Along with China, India and Vietnam, Turkey is among countries listed where most union members have been arrested. The report lists Renault and IGA (the airport construction consortium) as companies that violate workers’ rights. The report extensively deals with the protests and the ensuing rights violations at the Istanbul Airport, and the prison sentences given to Renault workers who protested at the workplace.26 In its 2018 report, the Committee of Experts of the International Labour Organisation underlined the need to adopt specific provisions establishing protection against union discrimination. It also outlined the need to adopt procedures that ensure rapid, objective, cheap and effective examinations of any complaints of union discrimination, along with preventive and corrective mechanisms and sufficiently dissuasive sanctions. In its 2019 report, the Committee drew attention to the bans of demonstrations and press statement organised by DİSK, KESK and affiliated unions, and arrests of its members and representatives.27 The Committee noted with concern the restrictions on strikes that were expanded during the State of Emergency via statutory decrees. The report also identified provisions related to the procedure of competence as harming the right to collective bargaining in practice, and highlighted the government’s failure to respond to questions related to this issue. It also added that, “In light of the above, the Committee requests once more the Government to take the necessary measures to amend the legislation, in consultation with the social partners, and to provide information in this respect.” In 2020 Turkey was once again among the worst ten countries in the ITUC Global Rights Index.28 Along with Hong Kong, Turkey was listed as a country 26 https://www.ituc-csi.org/RI19?lang=en (Accessed on 26.08.2019). 27 https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---europe/---ro-geneva/---ilo ankara/documents/meetingdocument/ where freedom of expression is most restricted. Moreover, it was listed as a the country with the highest number of prosecuted, dismissed and arrested union members. The report also described the climate of fear in the country, where workers struggled to unite and form unions and employers actively deterred any attempt to do so by firing union organisers and engaging in union busting practices. Representing 7 million workers in Europe and with more than 300,000 members in Turkey, IndustriAll Europe General Secretary Luc Triangle has voiced deep concern about rights Source: ITUC violations concerning the right to freedom of association and strike bans in Turkey. Triangle also added “As European trade unions, what’s happening in Turkey is on top of our agenda. We have supported Turkey’s membership to the EU from the beginning onwards. Along with the European Commission’s expectations from Turkey, we also have our red lines about workers. We asked the European Commission to put pressure on Turkey with regard to respecting workers’ rights. Our red line was about respecting millions of workers’ right to choose their unions, and to respect the right to work and right to organise.”29 The European Commission’s Annual Progress Reports have also continuously drawn a problematic portrait of Turkey with regards to labour rights. In its 2014 report, the Commission stated that insufficient protection against dismissals of trade union members and uncertainties continue to pose problems. Similarly the 2016 report of the Commission stated that there is no effective protection against union discrimination. wcms_676283.pdf (Accessed on 26.08.2019). 29 http://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/turkiye/782825/Kuresel_Sanayi_iscileri_Sendikalari_endiseli__Hak_gaspinda_en_ 28 https://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/ituc_globalrightsindex_2020_en.pdf (access: 21.07.2020) 38 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 kotu_ulke.html 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 39