The right to work in international labor law and the case of Turkey

Abstract

The right to work is an internationally recognized social human right. Due to its pivotal position in the lives of the individuals and at the same time being vulnerable against possible exploitative actions, work is adopted as a realm that requires special protection. The source of this protection reaches further into the international human rights instruments, which set the minimum standards concerning the rights and principles deriving from work. Accordingly, the right to work is commonly situated at the top of the list of economic and social rights within such international instruments. Nonetheless, it is observed that there is not a clear adopted definition of the right to work. A number of characteristics and functions are bestowed on the right to work, albeit the absence of clear borders to identify the right. In particular, the right to work is mostly referred to in terms of its instrumental character as ensuring the enjoyment of other economic and social rights. The objective of this dissertation is to provide a liberal definition of the right to work that not only adopts the interests it protects as a social human right, but also satisfies the contemporary trends and notions. It further analyzes the conformity of the Turkish law with the international principles on the right to work and how it correlates to the definition proposed in the dissertation.