The Impacts Of Subcontracting On The Identity Of Workers In Workplace

Year 2009, Volume: 11 Issue: 6, 57 - 72, 01.12.2009

Dr.Zeynep Şişli

Abstract

Subcontracting, as a different type of work organization, has a very effective impact not only on individual labour rights but also on collective labour rights. Workers of principal employer and subcontractors produce goods or services by performing same jobs in same workplaces side by side. However, work conditions of these two groups of workers are very different. Wages and financial conditions are never similar for same work. Subcontractor’s workers are paid minimum wage mostly, on the other hand principal employer’s employees get higher wages. Subcontractor’s workers have difficulties in applying trade-union membership compared to a principal worker. Subcontractor can not afford to give more rights to workers. Payments given to workers by subcontractor are limited by subcontract due to the competition made at the beginning between candidate-subcontractors for taking the business at lowest cost. Additionally, work conditions of subcontractor’s workers can not be changed by making a deal with their employer, because subcontractor is not the boss really. So it is nearly impossible to make collective bargain and contract with their own employer for better fiscal rights and work conditions for subcontractor workers by being members of trade-union. Their all work conditions are based on a commitment made between subcontractor and principal employer at the probable minimum payment. Subcontractor workers are not accepted as a real actor of work neither by principal company nor it’s workers in spite of working there even for long years. They always feel like aliens who can be easily kicked out and have to leave the workplace in any case at the end of the period of subcontract because of not being principal employer’s workers. They do not have an organizational identity related to principal company as it’s own workers. This reality causes emotionally low self-esteem and identity crisis of the subcontractor’s workers in workplace as they express clearly. The legal rules are against to discrimination of labour and ensure to protect equality in work. Inequal conditions for subcontractor labour and different wages for similar work of equal value are banned by 2nd and 5th articles of Turkish Labour Code. The reason why subcontracting exists is providing low cost of labour. It is normally expected discrimination between two groups of workers in workplace in real life in spite of protective law. Law sometimes can not be protective enough. There must be not only more protective law but also special policies regulated by government and some precautions taken by trade-unions immediately for this topic. Otherwise all the labour rights, individual and collective, gained by workers in centuries can not be used by subcontractor’s workers. The identity problem as a result of subcontracting will probably be one of the important occupational health and safety problems in immediate future.

Keywords

Subcontracting, Discrimination, Diversity, Worker, Identity, Trade-Union

References

• ALPAGUT Gülsevil(2008) Alt İşverenlik Yönetmeliği ve Hukuka Uygunluk So- runu, Legal Güvenlik Hukuku Dergisi, V.5 N.20, Legal Yayınları, İstanbul.
• ARSLAN Hakan(2000) “Küreselleşmenin Emek Üzerindeki İdeolojik Etkileri ve Seçenek Sorunu”, Küreselleşme(Edi- ting E.Ahmet Tonak), İmge Kitabevi,Ankara, p.159-279.
• AUER Peter(2005), Protected Mobility for Employment and Decent Work, Labour Market ILO Employment Analysis and Rese- arch Unit Employment Strategy De- partment, www.ilo.org, 31.05.2009 (ISBN-92-2-116938-3)
• BIZE, R&MILHAUD,J-Translated by YAZ- GAN Mehmet(1999) Sanayi Psikolojisi ve kanlığı Yayınları/2287, Ankara.
• BURKE, Peter J.(1996) Social Identities and Psychosocial Stress, http://wat2146.ucr.edu/papers/96b.p df, 20.05.2009
• CAST, Alicia D.& BURKE, Peter J.(2002) “A Theory of Self-Esteem”, Social Forces, March 200 80(3):1041-1068.
• DEMİR Fevzi(2005) En Son Yargıtay Karar- ları Işığında İş Hukuku ve Uygulaması, Birleşik Matbaacılık, İzmir.
• DEMİR, Fevzi (2006) “Kayıtdışı İşçilik ve Bir Model Önerisi”, Prof.Dr.Toker De- reli’ye lisma.org.pdf , 7.6.2009, p.415-439.
• ERDUT Zeki(2002) Uluslararası Sosyal Poli- tika ve Türkiye, DokuzEylül Üniversi- tesi Yayınları, İzmir.
• GÜZEL Ali(2004) “İş Yasasına Göre Alt İş- veren Kavramı ve Asıl İşveren-Alt İşve- ren ve Toplum Dergisi 2004/1, İstanbul , p.31-65
• ILO (2008) ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalisation, ILC 97th Ses- sion ,07.06.2009.
• IŞIKLI Alpaslan&ÖZŞUCA Şerife Tür- can(2004), “Sosyal Politika ve Sağlık”, İşyeri Hekimliği Ders Notları, Türk Ta- bipleri Birliği Yayınları, Ankara, p. 389- 401.
• KORAY, Meryem(2005) Sosyal Politika, İmge Kitabevi Yayınları, Ankara.
• KÖKKILINÇ ERALTUĞ Ayşegül(2008) “İşe Bağlı Stres ve Hukuksal Sonuçları”, Legal İş Hukuku ve Sosyal Güvenlik Hukuku Dergisi, V.5 N.19, Legal Y.,İs- tanbul, p.899-919.
• SIĞRI Ünsal(2007), “İşgörenlerin Örgütsel Bağlılıklarının Meyer ve Allen Tipoloji- siyle törde Karşılaştırmalı Bir Araştırma”, Anadolu University cial Sciences, Vol.:7, No.2 .261-278. Journal of So
• SPOR Nazlı Yaşar(2004) “İş Psikolojisi”, İş- yeri Hekimliği Ders Notları, Türk Ta- bipleri Birliği Yayınları , February 2004, Ankara, p. 361-379.
• TÜRKBAĞ Ahmet Ulvi(2003) “Kimlik, Hukuk ve Adalet Sorunu”, Doğu Batı Düşünce Dergisi, Volume 6, No.23, April 2003, p.209-219.
• URHAN Betül &SELAMOĞLU Ahmet (2008) “İşçilerin Sendikalara Yönelik Tutum ve Örneği”, Çalışma ve Toplum 2008/3, p.171-197.