Abstract:

From the earliest days of the labor movement, rank-and-file members’ supposed democratic control over their trade unions has been a constant problem due to certain sociological factors that reinforce oligarchy in organizations, and the five-decade Turkish experience of free unionism has proven to be no exception to this general tendency. This article first of all discusses the basics of union democracy as a concept and clarifies the fundamental difficulties for its consolidation. Secondly, it examines the post-1982 Turkish context of unionism structurally and procedurally on the issues of centralism, union organs, delegation and workplace representation, and asserts that the union organizational structure in Turkey further reinforces oligarchical rule, preventing the emergence of opposition and leadership contention within large unions. It also discusses the current structural provisions that support or hinder union democracy in a direct manner under the Trade Unions and Collective Labor Agreements Act No. 6356 regime in comparison to the former union laws. 

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