The European Committee of Social Rights, the monitoring body of the council which examines national reports and decides whether or not situations in the countries concerned are in conformity with the European Social Charter, said it found violations in equal opportunities in employment and training and that measures taken in health and social security were inadequate. It specifically singled out work and residence permit applications, saying they are too restrictive and that certain categories of employment are limited to Turkish nationals.
“There is a dual application procedure for work and residence permits” it underlined, noting that the country had breached Article 18 which addresses simplifying formalities and reducing taxes and dues.
Under Act No. 4817, applications for work permits have to be made to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security while applications for residence permits have to be submitted to the Ministry of the Interior. Furthermore, the report criticizes the limited access to the job market for foreign nationals. According to the charter’s rules, the only jobs from which foreigners may be barred are those that are inherently connected with the protection of law and order or national security and involve the exercise of public authority. Hence, it underlined that regulations governing access to the national labor market and the exercise of the right to employment are too restrictive.
As for vocational training, the report concluded that “it has not been established that the right to vocational training in the education system is guaranteed.” The committee drew a bleak picture of the state of health in Turkey as well. The rates of infant and maternal mortality are still manifestly too high in Turkey, it said, adding that “counseling and screening of the population at large as well as of children and adolescents, through school medical check-ups, were inadequate.” It criticized Turkey for not having adequate public information and awareness-raising initiatives on health matters as well as health education in schools. In breach of Article 13.1 of the revised charter, Turkey also lacked a legally established enforceable right to social and medical assistance. It concluded that there is no general social services system in the country.
The committee acknowledged that Turkey has conformed to charter rules in four cases and asked for further information from the Turkish government on 10 others. It criticized Turkey, however, for not submitting the requested reports in a timely manner. While the time limit for submitting the 15th report on the application of the charter and the 1st report on the application of the revised charter to the Council of Europe was Oct. 31, 2008, Turkey submitted them on March 25, 2009, almost five months later.
