What Is Union Membership?
What Is Trade Union Membership? In this content, we will provide information on what trade union membership is, as well as membership inquiry and suspension situations. The Trade Union and Collective Bargaining Agreement Law No. 6356 entered into force in 2012. With this law, the principles regarding the management, supervision, functioning, organization, and activities of worker and employer unions and certain organizations are regulated, as well as the principles enabling workers and employers to conclude collective agreements in order to determine their mutual social and economic conditions and working conditions.
How Is Trade Union Membership Inquiry Made?
Trade union membership inquiry is one of the procedures that every citizen should periodically check and monitor. With the developing technologies in our country, you can easily and quickly learn whether you have a trade union membership through the e-government application. Trade union membership information is recorded in e-government systems. If you would like to obtain information about trade union membership inquiry procedures, you can follow the instructions below.
First of all, in order to inquire about your trade union membership, you must have an e-government password. If you do not have an e-government password, you can obtain one by going to the nearest PTT branch with your identity card. With your e-government password, you can easily make an inquiry by accessing turkiye.gov.tr and typing “Worker union membership procedures” or “Employer union membership procedures.”
Trade union membership inquiry procedures can be carried out online, as well as by phone. By calling the 160 hotline from your mobile phone and using your e-government password, you can easily complete your Trade Union Membership Inquiry procedures.
How Is Trade Union Membership Cancellation Made?
Just as membership can be easily obtained, cancellation procedures can also be carried out easily. Withdrawal from unions is regulated under Law No. 4688 on Public Servants and Collective Bargaining Agreements. According to these provisions:
- Every member may easily withdraw from union membership.
- A public servant who wishes to withdraw from membership must fill out the cancellation form in three copies and sign the required sections. After completing the required documents in full, the public servant may submit the documents to the relevant institution to complete the membership cancellation. The union officials receiving the documents provide the member with a signed copy of the withdrawal document bearing the date and registration number.
- Withdrawal from membership becomes effective within 30 days after applying to the public employer. During this period, the person may join another union only after the period expires.
- A decision to expel a member from the union is made by the union central executive board. The expulsion decision is notified in writing to the expelled person and the employer. Members may object to the expulsion decision within fifteen days from the date of notification. The court renders its final decision within two months. Membership continues until the expulsion decision becomes final.
- Union branch, federation, or confederation memberships, positions, and assignments to different service branches, as well as the memberships of federation members and their duties in federation branches and union bodies (as applicable), expire when their terms end; however, their obligations to the confederation, if any, continue. The duties of retirees in union branch, federation, or confederation bodies continue until the end of the term for which they were elected.
The continuation or suspension of membership is explicitly regulated under Law No. 2821 on Trade Unions.
In Which Cases Is Trade Union Membership Suspended?
Trade union membership is suspended in certain cases. The general circumstances regarding suspension are listed below.
- The union membership of members who change their line of work automatically terminates.
- The membership of a worker union member is suspended during periods of unemployment exceeding one year.
- If a member is called to arms due to compulsory military service, the membership relationship is suspended.