Turkey has started to take progressive steps towards protection and improvement of human rights and democratic standards through legislative arrangements.
Human rights are integral. Draft Bill on the job security meets one of the securities provided under categories of the economic and social rights. This security is related to the honour of human being. Honour of human being expresses a treatment expectation in accordance to the image of the human being. Honpour of human being is not only related to the right not to be tortured. In the context of the right to work, one has the right to obtain a fair wage which will enable oneself and the family to survive in conditions suitable for honour of human being. Beside, the worker should be kept away from the risk to loose the job. This is only possible to prevent arbitrariness. Prevention of arbitrariness is then possible with binding the service contract in the light of objective criteria and provision of legal security of the rights of worker.
Turkey has signed in 1994 the ILO Protocol No. 158. Therefore it is the responsibility of Turkey to make necessary normative arrangements for the implementation of the Protocol.
Human rights cannot be handled disregarding the social aspects. There are unbrokable ties among human rights and democracy and development and growth. Poverty in specific and deprivation from social and economic rights in general are barriers in experiencing other rights. Job security is also an obligation derived from the European Social Charter.
European working class has gained its social rights through long lasting struggles. History of Europe is known with struggle of liberty, equality and brotherhoodness of the European peoples and especially working class. For this reason, deprivation of the guarantee on the right to work cannot be accepted. Individual freedoms do not have any meaning without recognition of social rights. During the preparatory work of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 10 December 1948, this question was solved and the twin conventions (UN Civil and Political Rights and Economic and Social Rights) have registered the integrity and indivisibility of the human rights.
We call on the government to proceed as soon as possible with the Bill on Job Security to be enforced.
Hüsnü Öndül
President