Turkey ranks one of the 10 worst countries for workers

Turkey is one of the 10 worst countries in the world for workers according to International Trade Union Confederation’s (ITUC) 2023 Global Rights Index. The index indicated that the country performed extremely badly due to the repression of strikes, arrests of trade unionists, and systematic union busting.

In 2022, couriers became an important figure of the labor movement in Turkey.

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International Trade Union Confederation’s (ITUC) 2023 Global Rights Index placed Turkey among the 10 worst countries in the world for the workers. 

The report indicated that there have been an ongoing assault on the freedoms and rights of workers, marked by the forceful suppression of protests by the police and the arbitrary arrest of trade union leaders throughout 2023. Furthermore, employers persisted in their systematic efforts to undermine unions by deliberately terminating employees who attempted to organize.

The ITUC mentioned the detainment of Deputy General Secretary of the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DISK), Fahrettin Engin Erdoğan on Feb. 26 during a protest against the reports of corruption hampering efforts to help earthquake victims. 

The report also particularly focused on the arrest of Şebnem Korur-Fincancı, President of the Turkish Medical Association, in 2022 and how Turkish government have been trying to interfere union’s internal affairs. 

ASD Laminat, Barutçu Tekstil, ETF Tekstil, and Philip Morris were listed as the companies violating workers’ rights in Turkey.