Working class in Turkey, DİSK and TÜRK-İŞ comparative class awareness perception and trade union activity

This research aims to reveal the trade unionism activities of the two confederations established on different thinking structures in Turkey and their perceptions of the working class and class consciousness. The formation and development process of social classes differed in each geography depending on the social, economic and political structures of the geography in question. Therefore, in this study, the formation of a class social structure in Turkey and the emergence of a working class are considered the dimensions specific to our country. With the formation of the working class in our country, class culture and class consciousness developed among the workers. Class awareness depends on the fact that workers can coexist and develop a network of solidarity and togetherness, be a 'class for themselves'. But after the 1980s, the policies of Neo-liberalism, which dominated the economic structure of the country, aimed at preventing unity and solidarity, neutralized the class consciousness that dominated the working class. In modern societies, people need to organize in order to live together and provide solidarity. As working-class organizations, trade unions, along with the Industrial Revolution in Europe, have allowed the working class to unite and fight against increasingly deteriorating socio-economic conditions. The organization of the working class in Turkey has given impetus to class movements. The establishment of TÜRK-İŞ and DİSK also affected the unionization rates. These Confederations, founded based on different ideologies, have an important position in the history of trade unionism. In this study, theoretical approaches to the concepts of working class, class consciousness and trade union in Turkey were discussed. These facts covered in the study were evaluated by trade union officials in a survey study conducted with officials working in trade unions affiliated to DİSK and TÜRK-İŞ. The data obtained in the study were compared with the evaluations of trade union officials on working class, class consciousness and trade unionism activities on the basis of the two confederations. In addition, the program, which was written in the literature as the 24 January Decisions in 1980 in our country, led to the realization of structural transformations in the field of economy and the effects of new economic policies on the class consciousness, class culture and organization of the working class had an important place in the literature. In this way, the research included theoretical approaches to the effects of new economic policies and evaluations of officials working in trade unions affiliated to TÜRK-İŞ and DİSK who participated in the survey study. KEYWORDS: Class, Trade Union, Class Consciousness, Class Culture, Organization.