Labour relations and employee rights in the 2nd Constitutional Period

Labour Relations and Employee Rights in the 2nd Constitutional Period Under the influence of global and internal dynamics, the Ottoman Empire entered a period of dramatic change in the 19th century. During this period, significant progress was made in the social lives, rights and status of workers and all other employees. In our study, the process of the given rights to the employees and the legal basis related to this issue in the Ottoman Empire from the last quarter of the 19th century until its collapse, are discussed. In this context; the sources of Islamic law which constitute the legal basis of the Ottoman Empire, archival records belonging to the Ottoman and Republican period which are available for research, domestic and foreign copyrighted and encyclopaedical works, articles, newspapers and law books (düsturlar) were utilized. Since its establishment, it is seen that the wage system and organization as well as holidays, leaves and other employee rights have not been baseless in the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman administrators complied with the Islamic law and the legal acquis and legislation that have been formed around it; they also respected the people's right to work and employ, to rest, worship, and receive salary as well as to work in humanitarian conditions. However, the change in working life and working conditions, important events took place in the world concerning the subject and the syndication in our country have led to new demands in the struggle for rights. It might be stated that one of the earliest steps taken in the Ottoman Empire regarding employee-workers' rights is the Fincancılar Contract. This was followed by a number of similar structuring and legal texts, but we witnessed significant developments by the 19th century. In particular, it is seen that a number of regulations were published with the Tanzimat. However, the Second Constitutional Monarchy should be accepted as a milestone in the process of determining the rights and responsibilities of employees and employers and revealing the legal remedies for the settlement of disputes since the last quarter of the century. During this period, it is observed that the workers engaged in intensive rights-seeking activities and established many civil structures. Strikes and similar actions peaked and as a result, the new administration, which came to power with the Declaration of Liberty (İlan-ı Hürriyet), was obliged to publish the Turkish Labor Law (Türk İş Hukuku) and the Ottoman Strike Law (Ta'til-i Eşgâl Kanunu) which is of great importance for our legal history. The struggles, union-like structures, new legislation in the system and all other developments have played an important role in the development of employee-workers' rights and our labour law. In this sense, the heated period at the beginning of the 20th century has a great influence on the development of the existing labour and social security law, as well as the relevant institutions in the Republic of Turkey.