Opposition CHP seeks to annull labor code

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) appealed to the Constitutional Court yesterday for the annulment of the Labor Code on the grounds that it is unconstitutional and violates international conventions.

The much-discussed Labor Code was enacted on Nov. 7, 2012 despite objections from opposition parties and labor unions. The most significant part of the code was the authorization limit for unions in each sector.

The former sector barrier of 10 percent was brought down to 3 percent with the new law. However, the initial limit will be held at 1 percent until July 2016, after which it will be increased to 2 percent until July 2018.

The opposition and unions, however, claim that sector barriers did not decrease in practice, indicating that the number of sectors dropped from 28 to 21, which means unions must gain more members in order to pass the sector barrier.

Speaking at a Parliament press conference ahead of submitting his party’s appeal to the top court, CHP Istanbul lawmaker Süleyman Çelebi said that some clauses of the Labor Code are openly in violation of the Constitution.