The government is preparing for controversial changes in the basic laws of workers: Flexibility is being heated again

The new “Strategic Plan” of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, covering the years 2024-2028, contains striking details about what will be done in the coming period.

Accordingly, the rights and responsibilities of workers regarding working conditions and working environment will be rearranged. In this context, it was argued that the existing flexible working regulations in the Labor Law should be activated. It was noted that legislative studies will be carried out to implement flexibility in the public sector.

The plan included “medium-term program” targets and said:

“In line with the developments in new generation flexible working models such as remote, part-time and temporary work and platform work, legislative regulations will be implemented quickly and effectively, taking into account the needs of the business world and work-private life balance. “Flexibility assurance will be ensured in the labor markets with the changes to be made in the Labor Law in dialogue with the social partners and the secondary legislation studies to be carried out in this direction.”

‘COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT’ IS UP NEXT

According to the plan, those with temporary and/or international protection status will be provided with registered employment, with priority given to areas where labor force is difficult to find, by taking into account that they comply with the conditions of being in Turkey, especially residence in the province where they are registered. Although there are millions of unemployed people in Turkey, the door will also be opened to the “international workforce”. The target is as follows:

“To develop policies for the creation of alternative labor resources in sectors where there is a labor shortage and to make the qualified international workforce a complementary element of the country’s human capital.”

According to the plan, changes are also foreseen in the Trade Unions and Collective Bargaining Agreement Law. It was noted that there is no criterion in the law to determine whether the employment contract has been terminated due to union reasons.

It was also argued in the plan that the Law No. 5953 on the Regulation of Relations Between Employees and Employers in the Press Profession came into force in 1952 and that it was not up to date to meet the new needs of the sector. In addition, the Maritime Labor Law will also be updated.

Commenting on these targets, Türkİş Deputy Chairman Nazmi Irgat stated that employers still want flexible working and said, “They are preparing a new Labor Law. Confidential. “We don’t know what will happen next,” he said. Irgat also pointed out that workers could not exercise their right to organize.