Buyukuslu, Ali Riza (1994) Trade unions in Turkey : an analysis of their development, role and present situation. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

This thesis focuses on the trade union movement in Turkey with particular reference to the Turkish
confederation of trade unions (TURK-IS) and its members. Case studies were conducted in both TURKIS
and its member unions, widely, based on open-ended interviews with union officials, but also
involving the analysis of union's reports, documents and journals, the observation of workers education
seminars and visits to the state's institutions and employers' organisations. The main purposes of the
thesis have been to illustrate the changing nature, role and struggle of the Turkish unions in the context
of the changing economic, political and social structure of Turkey. It also focuses on the dominant
trends in trade unionism in a European context.
The study argues that an explicit and theorised understanding of internal and external pressure on the
trade union movements as they emerge in many countries, is of fundamental significance to the Turkish
trade unions. It is argued that the trend in the Turkish labour relations in the 1960s and 70s seemed to
be the co-operation of unions in the formulation of policies, related to national economic performance
and social stability in politics. In other words, unions were tolerated to provide both economic and
social stability at macro level and manageability and certainty at micro level in the light of the
industrialisation process.
In this context, Import Substitution Industrialisation (lSI) was the model of capital accumulation, which
required trade unions to become integrated within the new economic and political policies in order to
secure an economically and politically stable industrial relations framework. In this respect, the Turkish
unions played a mediating role between the state, employers and workers.
It is also argued that the changing system of capital accumulation (a move from lSI to "market
liberalism") in the 1980s has endangered the traditional institutional arrangements. The traditional role
of interest representation for unions, particularly as mediation between the ruling class and working
class, has become problematic. The decline of union power, due to changes in their environments, has
also weakened the value of central labour organisations as mediators between the state, employers and
workers. The anti-labour policies seems to have been the outcome of strategic interventions of the
governments and employers. In this context, particularly in the 1980s explicit reference to theoretical
frameworks have tended to increase in favour of "strategic choices" and "union identities".
The study argues that in the Turkish case, unions have not been faced with a complete policy of
exclusion. In other words, the material conditions of "integrative" "collaborative" or "corporatist"
policies have been reduced, however, they have not been completely eliminated. The reasons for this
might be that although the economic power of TURK-IS and its members was no longer so important
for the government, the political mediating role of unions became significant in the period of the 1980s,
which included the transition to democracy, the process of integration of Europe, the implementation of
austerity policies and the fear of the possible failure of the parliamentary regime.
I argue in the thesis that under the painful and complex process of economic and political
reconstruction and the development of democracy the Turkish trade unions have been faced with a
number of tactical and political options in the rapidly evolving the issue of European Integration and of
democracy and the increasing uniformity amongst member of TURK-IS. The Turkish case suggests that
trade unions can achieve a position of influence in industrial relations systems as long as they pursue
politically motivated strategies by setting a new agenda for members, articulating the broad long-term
interests of the working class and finally displaying collective responses and collective responsibility. In
this respect, it is argued that there is still a significant scope for a more active initiating and coordinating
role for central labour organisations and unions can pursue more comprehensive and tenable
trade union strategies.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Labor unions -- Turkey
Official Date:	November 1994
Dates:	Date Event November 1994 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	School of Industrial and Business Studies
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Hyman, Richard; Winchester, David
Extent:	301 leaves
Language:	eng

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