The effects of the social balance agreement on the union member public officials working in the municipality: case of Pursaklar Municipality

Compared to Public servants unionism and labor unionism, public servants unionism was formed later and has been reached legal union rights later than labor unionism. From the Ottoman Empire to the present, the unionization movement of public servants was not welcomed, their organization was prevented, and their movement areas were restricted. Thanks to the emancipation and organization movements in the international arena and the International Labor Organization (ILO) agreements signed by Turkey, public officials gained the right to form and join a union in 1995. Public servants' unions got the first legal regulation in 2001 with the "Public Servants' Unions Law" no. Considering this 6-year period and looking at historical examples, especially the unions of public officials working in municipalities have signed contracts with municipalities on behalf of their members since the 1990s and brought additional financial and social rights to their members. These agremeents made with municipalities named as Social balance agreement, social balance compensation, collective agreement and similar names. The social balance agreement entered into our legal legislation with the amendment made in 2012. The processes related to benefiting from the social balance agreement have always been on the agenda of both public servants and public servants' unions. As a matter of fact, all public officials benefit equally from the provisions of the collective agreement, with the exception of the collective agreement bonus due to Law No. 4688. Municipalities and their subsidiaries in the Local Government Service Branch and public servants' unions in special provincial administrations can sign social balance agreements in the municipalities they are authorized in addition to the collective agreement. Although there is a provision in the general collective agreement regarding benefiting from the signed social balance agreement, there have been many debates and it has become the subject of jurisdiction. Considering the gaps and deficiencies experienced in this field in the literature, it is aimed to reveal the opinions and expectations regarding benefiting from the social balance agreement and the deficiencies experienced by public officials in the field of union organization.