Constitutional Court Clarifies Scope of Collective Bargaining Agreements
The Plenary of the Constitutional Court (the “AYM”), in its decision dated 20 March 2025, held that excluding a union member employee from benefiting under a collective bargaining agreement (the “TİS”) on the grounds of being “out-of-scope/white-collar” constitutes a violation of the right to unionize guaranteed under Article 51 of the Constitution.
Content of the Decision and Legal Framework
The applicant, who worked as an accounting chief in the private sector, claimed that despite being a union member, she was denied the benefits of the TİS. The courts of first instance and appellate courts dismissed the case, reasoning that the applicant was a white-collar employee and, like other white-collar employees, was considered out-of-scope.
The AYM emphasized that the right to conclude a TİS under Article 53 of the Constitution encompasses not only the right to sign such an agreement but also the right to benefit from it. In this context, the Constitution does not permit excluding a segment of employees from the scope of a TİS. The Court clearly stated that terms such as “white-collar” or “out-of-scope,” commonly used in practice, lack normative basis, and that the decisive criterion is solely whether the employee acts as an employer representative or participates in TİS negotiations on behalf of the employer.
This finding aligns with Article 39 of the Law on Trade Unions and Collective Bargaining Agreements (Law No. 6356), which provides that members of the contracting union shall benefit from the TİS, and only employer representatives and those who represent the employer during TİS negotiations may be excluded. Therefore, the applicant’s status as a white-collar employee alone is insufficient to justify exclusion from the TİS.
The lower courts rendered their decisions without examining whether the applicant’s duties and powers involved acting on behalf of the employer or participating in TİS negotiations. The AYM found this approach incompatible with the obligation to ensure effective judicial protection of the right to unionize.
Assessment of the Decision
This decision marks a significant turning point for employers and practitioners. The AYM reaffirmed that trade union rights must be guaranteed not only in theory but also in practice and in an effective manner. The mere label of “white-collar” or an out-of-scope designation can no longer constitute a valid ground for denying the benefits of a TİS.
In practice, this ruling obliges employers to consider only statutory exceptions when determining the scope of a TİS. Otherwise, they may face serious legal risks arising from violations of trade union rights. Human resources and legal departments should review job descriptions and authority documents to ensure that any out-of-scope classifications are based on concrete and lawful criteria.
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