The closing conference of the EU-funded "Improving Social Dialogue in Turkey" project was held in capital Ankara Thursday. Top EU and Turkish officials attended the event.
"Social dialogue and trade union rights are central elements of the European social model. They promote consensus-building and democratic involvement of stakeholders in all aspects of working life," EU Ambassador to Turkey Christian Berger had said ahead of the program.
The 30-month project, looking to promote well-functioning social dialogue mechanisms at all levels between employees and employers, was implemented by the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Family, Labor and Social Services Ministry as well as other social partners.
Within the framework of the project, more than 1,000 people from social partners, public institutions and provincial employment, and vocational boards received comprehensive training on international labor standards, social dialogue, human rights and related practices.
On the purpose of promoting a culture of social dialogue, the ministry and the ILO organized interactive seminars with more than 2,000 university students across Turkey.
Several workshops in sectors, including food, finance, chemistry, fine arts, tourism, construction mining and textiles were organized to improve industrial relations.
Over the course of the project, various studies and reports, including subjects of a novelty for Turkey, such as the "Perception of Trade Unions in Turkey," "Contribution of Social Dialogue to Economic Growth" and "Organizing Hard-to-Organize Employees," were developed to contribute to better policymaking for both social partners and the ministries.
The conference was hosted by the Berger with the participation of Family, Labor and Social Services Minister Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk, ILO Turkey Director Numan Özcan, U.N. Resident Coordinator Irena Vojackova-Sollorano, Deputy-Head of EU Delegation to Turkey Gabriel Munuera Vinals and the presidents of the Trade Union Confederations and the Employers' Associations. Representatives of the Turkish Confederation of Employer Associations (TISK) and Turkey's six trade union confederations also attended a panel session yesterday titled "Shaping the Future of Social Dialogue Together in Turkey."
Two award ceremonies for the competition on "Best Enterprise on Social Dialogue Mechanisms" and the short movie competition on "Social Dialogue and Trade Union Rights," were also held during the closing event.
