|
Textile, Knitting and Clothing Industry Workers'
Union
of Turkey (TEKSİF)
TEKSİF was founded in December 1951 as a federation by ten constituent
trade unions organized in the textile and garment industry. Located
in İstanbul at the time of establishment, the Head Office of the
Federation was later removed to Ankara in 1961.
|
| In alliance with nine other federations
active in various other branches of activity at the time, TEKSİF became
a founding member of the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (Türk-iş)
established in the year 1952 as the first National Center in the Country.
In the year 1961 TEKSİF went into affiliation with The International
Textile, Garment and Leather Workers' Federation (ITGLWF). Its application
for affiliation approved in April 2001, TEKSİF then also became an
affiliate of the European Trade Union Federation: Textile, Garment
and Leather (ETUF:TCL).
The decentralized structure of the organization when it was first
established as a Federation was later replaced by a more centralized
structure which turned TEKSİF into a National Union (industry-wide
union) in the year 1963. This continues to be the current structure
of the Union which has a single constitution binding for the whole
organization. As per the constitution all checked-off dues go directly
to the Head Office.
The supreme decision making organ of the Union is its ordinary
congress which meets once in every four years. The ordinary congress
brings together approximately 300 delegates elected by the local
congresses of the branches (locals). The branch congresses are composed
of at least 100 and at the most 250 delegates elected by their fellow
workers at each workplace organized by the branch. The Executive
Committee composed of a President, two Vice-Presidents, a General
Secretary and a Secretary Treasurer is elected by the Congress to
function as the highest decision-making organ in between congresses.
Votes are cast by secret ballot for each position separately. The
General Committee of Auditors, the General Committee for Discipline
and the Committee of Branch Presidents, which meets once every four
months, are the other organs of the Union.
In Turkey the legislation to regulate trade union organizing, collective
bargaining and strike activities in line with principles laid down
by ILO Conventions 87 and 98 first came into being in the year 1963.
With the passage of such legislation, trade union organizing in
the textile and garment sector proved highly effective and TEKSİF
became one of the largest unions in terms of membership. Its membership
has fluctuated between 75 to 150 thousand members ever since. In
1996 the first seven and later another four of the 28 public undertakings
in the industry were sold to private owners. Under that absurd policy
of privatization the remaining public undertakings were either transferred
to other public institutions or were made to stop production. As
a result of these steps taken under the name of privatization TEKSİF
lost 25 thousand members. With its 80 thousand members today, TEKSİF
is still one of the largest unions in terms of membership in Turkey.
On behalf of its 23 thousand members TEKSİF is currently a party
to a group collective agreement negotiated with the Turkish Textile
Industry Employers' Association to cover 83 separate undertakings
and workplaces. TEKSİF is further a party to 272 more separate collective
agreements negotiated with 174 individual employers to cover some
60 thousand members.
|
HEADQUARTER
Ziya Gökalp cad. Aydoğmuş sok.
No:1 Kurtuluş - ANKARA
Tel:0090.312.4312170 Fax:0090.312.4357826
TEKSİF is a member of
|
