Pregnancy, maternity, and leave related to work-life balance for workers (Directive 92/85, relevant provisions of Directives 2006/54, 2010/18 and 2019/1158)

• Author: Kadriye Bakirci
• Pages: 45-71

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5Pregnancy, maternity, and leave related towork-life balance for workers

(Directive 92/85, relevant provisions of Directives 2006/54, 2010/18 and

2019/1158)150

5.1General (legal) context

5.1.1Surveys and reports on the practical difficulties linked to work-life balance

The gender-based division oflabour in Turkey mostly forces women to carry out the

housework, child and elder care. The total workload of women is always higher than men

nomatter inwhich category the women stands. Among the OECD and 30 non-OECD

countries, the female population aged 15-64in Turkey spend the highest proportion of

time on household maintenance.151

The ILO’sQuantum Leap report shows that a ‘number of factors are blocking equality in

employment, and the one playing the largest role iscaregiving’,152 and the ILO Office for

Turkey’sinfographic poster shows that women’sunpaid care work, including child and

elderly care prevent them getting into paid labour.153

The Women's Empowerment Strategy and Action Plan (2018-2023),154adopted bythe

Directorate ofWomen’s Status in the Ministry of Family, Employment and Social Services

states that marriage and child care both increase women’s housework and weaken their

participation in labour markets, while the opposite is true for men. The major impediment

towomen’s participation inthe workforce stems from a lack of sufficient preschool

education and care services.155

As stated above, studies identify a ‘motherhood penalty’as a source of gender pay gaps.

This pay gap indicator between mothers and non-mothers reveals striking results when

compared to the ‘fatherhood premium’indicating the pay gap between fathers and non-

fathers.156

5.1.2Other issues

Although Turkey isnot a party tothe ILO Convention concerning Workers with Family

Responsibilities (No. 156), according to Article 12/2(c) ofthe UNConvention onthe

150 See Masselot, A. (2018), Family leave: enforcement ofthe protection against dismissal and unfavourable

treatment European network of legal experts in gender equality and non-discrimination.

https://www.equalitylaw.eu/downloads/4808-family-leave-enforcement-of-the-protection-against-

dismissal-and-unfavourable-treatment-pdf-962-kb; McColgan, A. (2015), Measures to address the

challenges of work-life balance intheEU Member States, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, European

network of legal experts in gender equality and non-discrimination.

https://www.equalitylaw.eu/downloads/3631-reconciliation.

151 See Memis, E., Ones, U. and Kizilirmak, B. (2012), ‘Housewifizationof Women: Contextualising Gendered

Patterns of Paid and Unpaid Work’,inS. Dedeoglu and A. Elveren (eds.) Gender and Society in Turkey: The

Impact of Neo-liberal Policies, EU Accession and Political İslam, I.B.Tairus; See also ILO-CEACR,

Observation (CEACR) – adopted 2015, published 105th ILC session (2016), Discrimination (Employment

and Occupation) Convention 1958 (No. 111).

152 ILO (2019) Quantum leap report.

153

http://esitizberaberiz.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/ILO-Report-A-Quantum-leap-for-gender-

equality.pdf.

154 Republic of Turkey Ministry of Family, Employment and Social Services General Directorate onthe Status of

Women (Kadının Statüsü Genel Müdürlüğü),Strategy Paper and Action Plan on Empowerment of Women

(Kadının Güçlenmesi Strateji Belgesi ve Eylem Planı) (2018 - 2023)

http://www.sp.gov.tr/upload/xSPTemelBelge/files/RySPo+KADININ_GUCLENMESI_STRATEJI_BELGESI_VE_

EYLEM_PLANI_2018-2023_.pdf.

155 Committee on Equality of Opportunity Between Men and Women forthe Grand National Assembly ofTurkey

(Kadin Erkek Firsat Eşitliği Komisyonu) (2013), Report on Promoting Women’s Employment in Turkey (Her

Alandaki Kadin İstihdaminin Artirilmasi ve Cözüm Önerileri Komisyon Raporu)

https://www.tbmm.gov.tr/komisyon/kefe/docs/komisyon_raporu_2014_1.pdf.

156 ILO (2019) Quantum leap report. http://esitizberaberiz.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/ILO-Report-A-

Quantum-leap-for-gender-equality.pdf.

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Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, Turkey is under an obligation toencourage

the provision of supportive social care services to enable parents tocombine family

obligations with work responsibilities and participation in public life. Specifically this isto

be carried out through the promotion of the establishment and development of a network

of childcare facilities. Pursuant to the revised European Social Charter and with a view to

achieving equality of opportunity and treatment for men and women workers with family

responsibilities and between such workers and other workers, Turkey must undertake to

develop or promote services, public or private, andin particular child daycare services and

other childcare arrangements (Article 27).

5.1.3Overview of national acts on work-life balance issues

In order to provide work-life balance, employment legislation covers provisions related to

issues such as:

-maternity leave;

-paternity leave for biological fathers;

-paid and unpaid care leave for adopting parents;

-care leave for parents of disabled orill children;

-unpaid care leave for biological employee mothers;

-unpaid care leave for civil servant parents;

-right to part time work for employee parents;

-right to part time work for civil servant mothers;

-right toswitch from full-time work to part-time work and vice versa for employee

parents;

-right to switch from full-time work to part-time work for civil servant mothers;

-right to return to work;

-protection against discrimination due topregnancy, maternity, orfamily

responsibilities;

-protection of employees against unjustified, invalid, abusive ordiscriminatory

dismissal;

-obligation of certain employers to establish nursing rooms and childcare centres;

-right to benefit from unpaid birth/maternity leave related to retroactive social

security premium payment for women employees who stopped working not

exceeding two years after giving birth;

-right to change the night shifts for employee couples.

However, there are several gaps inor problems with the legislation:

-unpaid care leave is only recognised for biological employee mothers and there isno

unpaid care leave for biological employee fathers;

-a leave of absence for employees in the event ofthe illness of a dependent family

member is not recognised;

-there is no bottle-feeding leave for fathers of newly born children;

-there isnoexplicit provision recognising the right toreturn towork for employees

after taking leave; and

-the right to part-time work and the right to switch from full-time work topart-time

work is only recognised for women civil servants but not for male civil servants.

5.1.4Political and societal debate and pending legislative proposals

This subject is mostly discussed inthe feminist academic literature,157as well asat

conferences and in panels, seminars and training programmes organised bywomens NGOs

to ensure that Turkish law is compatible with EU law.

157 See Bakirci, K., Karadeniz, O., Yilmaz,H., Lewis, E.N. and Durmaz, N. (2014), Women inthe World of Work

(İşDünyasındaKadın), Volume 2, Turkonfed Yayini, Istanbul; Bakirci, K. (2012), Searching for Gender

Equality and the Non-Discrimination Principle Based on Gender in Employment in International, European