TURKEY'S EU MEMBERSHIP REQUIRES ADEQUATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 000482

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E.O.12958: DECL: 01/27/2015
TAGS: ELAB PHUM PGOV SOCI TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY'S EU MEMBERSHIP REQUIRES ADEQUATE
PROTECTION FOR LABOR UNION RIGHTS AND A LEGAL DEFINITION OF
BURDEN OF PROOF


Classified By: (U) POLITICAL COUNSELOR JOHN KUNSTADTER,
E.0.12958, REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D).


1. (C) Summary. European Commission social policy sector
manager in Ankara Zeynep Aydemir told us EU membership will
require Turkey to guarantee full rights for trade unions and
to establish a clear legal definition regarding the burden of
proof in legal disputes. Aydemir attaches major significance
to making all aspects of Turkish labor law conform with EU
labor law, securing occupational safety and health protection
for workers and reforming the civil service. End summary.

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Union Rights and Burden of Proof
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2. (C) Aydemir told us January 7 that Turkey could face
major obstacles to EU accession if it does not draft
legislation to assure that Turkish trade unions are able to
exercise the full range of rights guaranteed by various ILO
Conventions. Turkey has ratified most conventions, except
notably the 1981 Convention guaranteeing collective
bargaining. At the same time, Turkey will have to establish
a clear legal definition regarding the burden of proof in
disputes. Burden of proof issues are closely intertwined
with protecting women's rights, as well as affecting
employee-employer disputes in harassment and discrimination
cases. Aydemir asserted that if Turkey does not address
these two labor-related issues, it might be enough to derail
Turkish accession.

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Other Issues
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3. (C) Aydemir criticized various aspects of the most recent
Turkish labor law adopted in June 2003 for not conforming to
EU standards. She noted 1) Turkey does not grant parental
leave time to fathers, a common practice in the EU; 2) men
and women are not treated equally; 3) civil service reform is
still being discussed, but is no closer to resolution than it
was two years ago when a forum to discuss reform was first
held; and 4) occupational safety and health protections are
consistent with worldwide standards in large multinational
industries but do not apply to workers in small (less than
ten employees) and medium-sized companies. Despite these
deficiencies, Aydemir believes that Turkey's labor sector is
far more advanced in comparison with conditions in the former
Communist countries which have already received EU admission.

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EU Standards
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4. (C) All EU member countries mandate equal treatment under
law for men and women, assuring equal pay for both men and
women, and guaranteeing parental leave for mothers and
fathers. By comparison, Turkey does not institutionalize
equal treatment or equal pay for men and women and only
guarantees maternity leave. However, Aydemir considered
these "soft issues" that would not be expected to hinder
Turkey's accession. Aydemir is concerned that Turkey's large
informal economy, which she estimates employs 50 percent of
the work force, could be adversely affected by these required
changes, making it politically difficult to bring Turkish
labor policies into compliance with the EU's. Currently EU
countries welcome Turkish workers as a source of cheap labor,
but this situation could change once the labor force is
assimilated into European society and is able to command
higher European wages.


5. (C) Ibrahim Akcayoglu, World Bank Operations Officer in
the Human Development Sector Unit concurs with Aydemir,
asserting there is a wide gap between stated policies and
workplace practice in Turkey. Aydemir averred correcting
actual violations could be difficult for Turkey because the
country only has 700 labor inspectors when it should have at
least double that number. In discussing the constraints
imposed by having an inadequate number of labor inspectors to
monitor labor conditions in Turkey, Aydemir compared Turkey
with Germany, which has 700 inspectors for one province. She
added that employers perpetuate labor problems through a
general lack of awareness of their responsibilities toward
workers as well as a reluctance to spend money, even on
legally mandated social security programs, to fund retirement
and health insurance. Small and medium-sized firms in the
construction industry are considered to be among the major
offenders in ignoring employee rights. Agriculture, which
accounts for an estimated 40 percent (estimates vary between
33 and 40 percent of the Turkish economy) is not required to
provide equal pay or social security benefits for its
workers, perhaps half of whom are women. Unfavorable work
environments also create unhealthy conditions which
contribute to child labor abuses, a problem that seems best
overcome by training entire families about the negative
aspects of working children.
DEUTSCH