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Considering the history of associations in employment law, it emerged after the Industrial Revolution for employees to be protected. From this point of view, it can be said that the associations enable employees as the weaker party in the labor market to become as a bigger power coming together.
However, in addition to modern labor laws, the Associations and Collective Labor Law No. 6356 included employer associations as well as employee associations. As a matter of fact, the Law defines associations as “organizations with legal personality formed by at least seven workers or employers to come together and operate in a business line in order to protect and develop the common economic and social rights and interests of workers or employers in their labor relations”. As a part of the social state principle, employee associations are equipped with certain powers to protect the rights and interests of workers. However, what should be the function of employer associations?
The legislator also allowed the establishment of employer associations as a counterbalance to employee associations regarding societal labor life. Whereas the employee associations work to improve the labor life and personal rights of the workers in principle, it is seen that the employer associations represent employers in the formation of policies and certain decisions regarding labor/employment. As a matter of fact, in terms of practice, the main functions of employer associations are as follows:
They play a role in determining the minimum wage: In accordance with the social state principle, states determine the lower limit wage to be given to employees in one or more sectors. The minimum wage is determined each year in the month before the start of the year. This determination is ultimately under the supervision of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security; It is determined by the Minimum Wage Determination Commission, which consists of workers, employers and government representatives. Employer associations and/or the Confederation represent the party of employers.
They represent employers in the High Board of Arbitration: Various tasks have been assigned to the High Board of Arbitration in collective labor law. These are generally built on resolving disputes during the conclusion of the collective bargaining agreement. In this context, employer associations play a role in representing the employer side through the confederation.
They play a role in the standardization of professional competence: As the representatives of employers, employer associations initiate the formation of certain qualification conditions in order to perform certain professions in the sector. In this way, they take the lead in performing certain professions needed in labor life in an adequate and standard way. For this, they ensure that policy is formed by negotiating with the necessary authorities.
Finally, employer associations contribute to the determination of national policies as well as to the determination of international policies. Particularly, by participating in the studies carried out within the World Labor Organization (ILO) and the International Organization of Employers (IOE), they initiate the formation of international rules for a certain sector and geography.
As is seen, employer associations represent employers in the determination of national and international policies regarding labor market in general. In this framework, it is planned to create a balance against employee associations. Undoubtedly, the number of employer associations will not be as much as workers’ associations. However, employer assocaitons can also act in unity by forming confederations. As a matter of fact, there are currently two employer association confederations in Turkey.
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