With the official unemployment rate hovering at 15 percent and the unofficial one at well over 40, Turkey's government is taking steps to make the sacking of workers more difficult.
The measure, if legislated after Parliament reconvenes on October 1, will be of particular benefit to labor unions, Labor Minister Yasar Okuyan said, since it bans the laying off of workers for involvement in trade union activities, as is now the case.
Visiting the Confederation of Progressive Labor Unions (DISK), Okuyan called the current practice "a source of shame for Turkey, a country seeking European Union membership. Turkey cannot survive with this blemish. The 57th government will have the privilege of enacting this law. If it is approved by Parliament, dismissals will become more difficult and employers will have to pay higher damages."
The ministry's work on employment security has been completed, he said, and is to be discussed by the Council of Ministers in the next few weeks, before Parliament returns from summer recess.
The government was also preparing a bill to protect workers in agriculture and forestry from unjust treatment, he added. Welcoming the bill as an important step despite "some flaws," DISK Chairman Suleyman Celebi said that the union would support the ministry." — (Albawaba-MEBG)
© 2000 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
