VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAK #1562/01 3001748
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 271748Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 1095

UNCLAS ANKARA 001562 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT ALSO FOR EUR/SE, DRL/ILCSR FOR KUNLU 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV ELAB ECON AMGT TU
SUBJECT: CIVIL SERVICE UNIONS THREATEN NOVEMBER 25 STRIKE 
 
THIS MESSAGE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  DO NOT 
DISSEMINATE VIA INTERNET. 
 
¶1. (U) Summary:  Civil service workers intend to strike 
November 25 to protest the lack of a legal framework for them 
to collectively bargain or strike.  Estimates vary on the 
reach of the strike but as many as 2.4 million workers may 
participate.  Turkey's lack of legislation to provide these 
rights is seen as a violation of Article 11 of the European 
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental 
Freedoms, as well as the spirit of the ILO Convention on the 
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to 
Organise (No. 87).  Civil service labor confederations admit 
that their mechanisms for dialogue with the GOT have been 
operating dysfunctionally for some time, and assert they are 
finally ready to strike over these issues because they 
believe the law is on their side and that the international 
community is watching.  End Summary. 
 
STRIKE: WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN... 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) On October 12, two of the three public sector 
employees unions confederations in Turkey -- KESK, which has 
11 affililated public sector employee unions; and KAMU-SEN, 
which has 12 affliated public sector employee unions -- 
declared that they will hold a country-wide "warning strike" 
on Wednesday, November 25.  According to a source at KESK, 
they are expecting participation of up to 2 million public 
sector workers, 600,000 of whom are formally employed and 
active members of KESK, and the remainder of whom are 
contract workers in public sector jobs.  Participation of 
KAMU-SEN's 376,000 active members would bring the total up to 
around 2.4 million.  Notably, MEMUR-SEN, the third public 
sector labor confederation which represents 12 affiliated 
public sector employee unions, said it does not plan to 
participate in the strike.  KESK is contacting the 
international labor confederations ETUC and ITUC to appeal 
for expressions or gestures of solidarity.  Turk-Is, a 
confederation of private sector unions that represents 
800,000 active members, said that it may provide some 
symbolic support for the strike, but that it is 
constitutionally prohibited from performing a "sympathy" 
strike. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The strike is planned to hold for 24 hours, starting 
at 12:01 am on November 25.  KESK said that "all" industries 
will be affected by the strike: for example, planes will not 
fly, trains and ships will not operate, schools will not be 
open, taxes will not be collected, and customs services will 
stop.  However, KESK and KAMU-SEN plan to reserve some 
sectors that are essential -- like security or emergency 
health services -- from participation in the strike.  The 
confederations' administrators are touring provinces in 
Turkey to organize the strike.  KESK said that the 
confederations' expectations for participation and impact are 
very high. 
 
¶3. (U) More specific details on the extent of the strike are 
elusive -- for example, the extent of the impact on U.S. 
civilian and military operations.  KESK's and KAMU-SEN's 
unions represent organized workers in the fields of 
agriculture and forestry, culture and arts, education, 
energy, health, general office workers, local/municipal 
services, news reporting, public works, religious workers, 
and transportation.  KESK's unions also represent 
construction and highway workers, and KAMU-SEN's unions also 
represent public sector retirees.  Labor Attache will 
continue to press for details from the GOT and the 
confederations as the strike date draws closer. 
 
... AND WHY 
----------- 
 
¶4. (U) KESK said the purpose of the strike will be to protest 
the lack of legal provision for civil service workers to 
collectively bargain and strike.  The Turkish labor code has 
separate laws for public sector (Law No. 4688) and private 
sector workers (Laws Nos. 2821 and 2822).  Law 4688 does not 
allow civil service workers to collectively bargain -- only 
to "negotiate" with the GOT.  While theoretically the process 
of negotiation should mean all sides can shift their 
positions, in practice during these meetings the GOT has 
often provided civil service unions with ultimata on certain 
issues that are redlines for the unions, forcing 
capitulation.  In addition, Law 4688 does not authorize 
recourse to strike, and Article 237 of Turkey's Penal Code 
criminalizes civil service strikes.  Since there is no 
recourse to strike, in the past civil service employees who 
organized strikes were arrested because the strikes were 
declared "illegal."  KESK anticipates that during or after 
the strike the GOT may declare the strike illegal in order to 
scare members away from participating. 
 
¶5. (U) However, it appears that the law may lean toward the 
side of civil service workers on this issue.  In November, 
2008 the European Court of Human Rights ruled in the Demir 
and Baykara v. Turkey case that the right to bargain 
collectively and strike are inherent elements of the freedom 
of association contained in Article 11 of the European 
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental 
Freedoms.  In addition, in July 2009 the International Labor 
Organization's Executive Committee noted that Turkey has not 
fully implemented the Convention on the Freedom of 
Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (No. 87), 
which Turkey ratified in 1993, despite a visit by a high 
level ILO mission and constant reminders that the lack of the 
rights to collectively bargain or strike for civil service 
workers violates the spirit of that entire convention. 
Article 90 of Turkey's constitution also reinforces that 
international treaties that have been ratified are the 
supreme law of the land, suggesting that the ILO Convention 
should be implemented even if contrary to the labor code or 
penal code. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) While the GOT has not made much progress on 
formalizing the rights to collectively bargain or strike for 
civil servants, it has been flexible on other issues related 
to benefits and salary.  Also, the GOT has had draft 
legislation pending in the Turkish parliament to modify Laws 
4688, 2821 and 2822, although debate on the legislation has 
been delayed, according to the GOT, because of local 
elections and a cabinet reshuffle.  The GOT also contends 
that in order to fully conform with ILO treaty No. 87 they 
would have to amend the Constitution, which would be a 
lengthy and complicated process and open up debate on a 
myriad of unrelated issues.  MEMUR-SEN prefers to put 
pressure on the GOT to amend the Constitution rather than to 
strike.  KESK and KAMU-SEN, however, feel that though they 
have had an open dialogue with the GOT on these and other 
issues for a long time, they are finally ready to draw a line 
in the sand over the lack of a legal right to strike. 
 
JEFFREY 
 
           "Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.s 
gov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turkey"