The 13th Labour Assembly Convenes, Addressing Türkiye's Labour Landscape, and Advocates for Social Dialogue and Decent Work

© Deniz Soyhan

ANKARA – The International Labour Organization (ILO) marked a significant presence at the 13th Labour Assembly held in Ankara, demonstrating its commitment to provide guidance on decent work and support its tripartite partners in Türkiye.

The agenda, centred around the theme "The Labour Life in the Centenary of Turkish Republic: The Future of Labour, Unionisation, and Employment," received active participation from government as well as workers’ and employers’ organizations and stakeholders, with the ILO's support notably highlighted throughout the event. 

The inaugural session commenced with a video message from the ILO Director-General, Gilbert F. Houngbo, who congratulated President Erdoğan, Minister of Labour and Social Security Prof. Dr. Vedat Işıkhan, and the leaders and representatives of employers’ and workers’ organizations of Türkiye, for reconvening the Labour Assembly “at a time when the world of work is facing multiple challenges”.

© ILO

Highlighting the tripartite partners’ sustained commitment to social dialogue, the Director-General emphasized its pivotal role in addressing the challenges confronting the world of work today, saying “from climate change to demographic shifts and digitalization, these transformative forces demand a prioritization of social dialogue to ensure inclusivity in decision-making processes”.

The Director-General welcomed Türkiye's decision to join the Global Coalition for Social Justice, which is forged to advancing social justice and decent work for all. Officially welcoming Türkiye for joining the Coalition, the Director-General urged workers’ and employers’ organizations of Türkiye to follow suit, fostering a collective commitment to realizing social justice.

In closing, the Director-General expressed confidence that the 13th Labour Assembly “will revitalize social dialogue”, guiding Türkiye along the path towards decent work and social justice. Reflecting on the rich history of collaboration between Türkiye and the ILO, the Director-General expressed optimism for further deepening cooperation.

Throughout the day, panel discussions delved into pertinent issues, ranging from the future of labour to the impacts of green and digital transitions on the labour market, with the ILO contributing expertise and guidance. First panel, under the moderation of Prof. Dr. Vedat Işıkhan, was held with the participation of all social partners of the ILO, namely, Turkish Confederation of Employer Associations (TİSK), Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (TÜRK-İŞ), Confederation of Turkish Real Trade Unions (HAK-İŞ), the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Türkiye (DİSK), Confederation of Public Servants Trade Unions (Memur-Sen), Turkish Confederation of Public Workers Associations (Türkiye Kamu-Sen), Confederation of Public Employees' Trade Unions (KESK), The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB)and Union of Turkish Chambers of Agriculture (TZOB). In a nutshell, the social partners expressed their belief that despite the challenges faced, they can overcome these problems by coming together in social dialogue. They emphasized that the issues of working life can only be effectively addressed through a social dialogue and negotiation process aligned with ILO standards. Furthermore, they called for a world of work centred around providing decent work for all and ensuring a secure future.

ILO continue to provide guidance on decent work and support its tripartite partners

In the panel titled "Decent Work in Labour Life," Atty. Mr. Ahmet Aydın, Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Security, led discussions, with contributions from ILO's Head of Social Dialogue and Tripartism Unit, Youcef Ghellab, highlighting the importance of ensuring decent working conditions for all. Ghellab said social dialogue and its institutions like the Labour Assembly are more needed than ever to help government and the social partners come and stay together  and work hand in hand in the longer run to build not only a resilient world of work but also a resilient economy and society, adding "We are working towards creating higher quality jobs parallel to the changing world of work; gender equality, work-life balance, flexible working. We are developing policies and projects in this perspective that prioritize occupational health and safety. We are at a time when we face many challenges in working life. We are faced with climate change, demographic changes, and digitalization, where loss of rights, low wages, weak social protection, and unemployment deepen inequalities. As the ILO, we continue to provide guidance on decent work and support our tripartite partners."

© ILO

Hassan: “Despite positive changes in women’s status in the labour market in Türkiye gender-based inequalities persist. We must collectively address the challenges to achieve social justice.”

At the end of Panel II, ILO Türkiye Director Yasser Hassan took the floor to address both the positive strides and challenges facing decent work for women. He highlighted Türkiye's robust legal framework concerning gender equality and non-discrimination, as evidenced by the provisions of the Constitution and the labour law, which promote women's entrepreneurship and employment opportunities. Additionally, he underscored the importance of policies outlined in the 12th Development Plan for advancing gender equality within Türkiye's labour market. He said, key priorities within this framework include empowering women in policy development processes, advocating for gender-responsive budgeting practices, expanding initiatives in entrepreneurship and enhancing financial and digital literacy to bolster women's participation to labour force. Moreover, measures aimed at improving the accessibility and quality of care services were emphasized as integral components of ensuring gender equality in Türkiye's labour landscape, he added.

© ILO

Hassan stated: “Türkiye has made significant progress in the fight against unregistered employment. Thus, the number of unregistered female workers has decreased. While the informal employment rate of women was 72.5% in 2002, this rate decreased to 33.8% in 2022, adding that in recent years, there has been an upward trend in the proportion of women among employers. (11.9% in 2022) and women have been increasingly represented at social partners various roles including leadership positions in recent years. Issues pertaining to women's empowerment and gender equality are likewise becoming more and more important to trade unions.”

Highlighting the persistent challenges, he emphasized, "Despite positive changes in women's status in the labour market in Türkiye gender-based inequalities persist. We must collectively address the following challenges to achieve social justice." He underscored:

• Limited job opportunities for women and poor working conditions.
• Need to improve implementation of laws.
• High unpaid care and domestic work carried out by women.
• Inadequate care services and policies. 
• Low level of unionization of women & limited place in social dialogue agenda.
• Challenges in access to education and skills.
• Lack of systematic mechanism for struggling violence and harassment at work.
• Need to improve polices and joint efforts for reducing gender pay gap.

"If we do not move collectively to address these challenges, we will be confronted with evidence of submerged iceberg of misconduct, which contaminates the world of work and renders it a hostile environment for women," he concluded. 

The day ended with a review and closure session.

The assembly continues tomorrow with a focus on addressing challenges in unionization and collective bargaining, as stakeholders strive for equitable and inclusive labour practices. The Labour Assembly will conclude with closing remarks by Ms. Beate Andrees, ILO’ Assistant Director General and Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia.