Social dialogue applications in the workplace in the European Union and Türkiye

A work environment in which employees are informed and enabled to participate, to a certain extent, in decision-making processes both supports increases in productivity and enhances workforce satisfaction. For this reason, workplace-level social dialogue practices assume a critical role in strengthening labour–employer relations and establishing social partnership. The main objective of this study is to examine the social dialogue mechanisms implemented at the workplace level in the European Union and to compare them with the practices in Türkiye; to analyze the existing structure by evaluating the effectiveness of its functioning; and to identify the problems that have emerged in the harmonization process. The data used in the study were collected through document analysis methods. Within the framework of the literature review, the concept of social dialogue is explained; in the context of the transformation created by globalization in the industrial relations system, workplace-level social dialogue practices that have gained importance are addressed, and the regulations in the European Union and Türkiye are evaluated comparatively. The findings obtained indicate that workplace-level social dialogue in the European Union is based on strong legal foundations and institutionalized mechanisms, and is generally conducted within a dual-channel structure supported by trade union organizations and non-union representation mechanisms. In contrast, social dialogue practices at the workplace level in Türkiye appear to be built almost entirely upon a single-channel representation system and remain quite limited. In particular, the fact that the institution of employee representation is not explicitly and independently regulated in national legislation leads to significant deficiencies at both the legal and institutional levels.