ANKARA (A.A) - 06.08.2002 - New Turkey Party (YTO) leader Ismail Cem has said that freedom of the labor unions should be protected and some habits and implementations that hurt their freedom should come to an end.
Cem visited Confederation of Turkish Labour Unions (Turk-Is) Chairman Bayram Meral on Tuesday. After the meeting, Meral said that the job security bill was included to Parliament program with the signatures of 210 deputies and political party leaders.
''Job security bill doesn't cost a penny to the employers. I'd like to state that we're upset about some of the statements of the employers. Until yesterday, Turkey Chamber of Unions and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) chairman and Turkish Businessmen and Industrialists' Association (TUSIAD) chairman were supporting the bill. However, some employers starting opposing the bill maybe because of the reaction of business owners who employ workers illegally.''
Cem stated that all freedoms are a whole and this includes union rights, individual rights and religious freedom. ''All these freedoms are a whole. We should give an end to some habits and implementations which hurt union rights,'' Cem said.
Stating that employers and employees should reach an agreement about job security, Cem said conflicts between these two groups didn't yield good results in the past.