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 |
45
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.
46
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
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