Strike Right and Strike Law at the Last Period of the Ottoman State

Abstract

It is seen that some concepts such as employment, employee and employer occurred in work life in relation to the alteration and transformation experienced in all fi elds in the Ottoman State after the second half of the 19th century. In this context activities as a result of the modern age's needs caused confusion and gave rise to employees' demands for right. It is seen that the state tried to maintain public order and safety under these new circumstances by advising, using force and imposing legal regulations. Hence employees increased strike actions and their demands for union rights; and in relation to the developments damaging state authority the Ottoman Government resorted to take more concrete steps after the 2nd Constitutional Period and sought a solution through legal means to solve the problem. Within this scope, the Strike Law (Ta'tîl-i Eşgal Kanunu) was enacted on August 9, 1909 in order to solve the problems of employees and to meet their demands. Employees' attempts to rebel and increasing demands for strike and working conditions played undoubtedly a signifi cant role in the period paved the way for this law. This article deals with the developments on this issue before 1909 and after 1909 Law; demanded rights for strike and union; and issued decisions in the light of archival documents of the time. The related documents were considerably utilized and analyzed with regard to legal texts valid during the Ottoman period with a view to compare today's conditions. Detailed information concerning employees' attempts and demands for strike is given in this article and related reference works were used, as well.