The Crime and Punishment of Violation of Freedom of Work and Work is regulated in Article 117 of the TURKISH CRIMINAL LAW. The right to work is among the fundamental rights in our constitution. Accordingly, the Turkish Penal Code has included the crime of Violation of Freedom of Work and Labor under the title of “Crimes Against Freedom”.
A person who violates the freedom of work and work by using force or threat or by any other unlawful behavior will be punished in accordance with the provisions of the prohibition of the right to work in case of complaint of the victim. Here, if the crime of preventing the right to work is committed, a complaint is a condition for the opening of an investigation and prosecution and constitutes the condition of judgment of the crime.
If a person’s desperation, loneliness or devotion to his job causes him to work unpaid by exploitation, or if there is a clear disproportion between the service he provides and the wage he receives, the person who causes these unworthy working and accommodation conditions will be committing the crime of violating the freedom of work and work. Even if the people working under these conditions consent, the aforementioned crime occurs.
In cases where the person’s desperation, desolation or loyalty to his job is exploited, or in cases where there is a clear difference between his job and the wage he receives, the people who cause these people to fall into the situations we have stated, the people who supply or dispatch or transfer them from one place to another will be given the same penalty.
Finally, the crime of violating the freedom of work and labor for the person who, by using force or threat, forces the worker or their employer to reduce or increase their wages, or to accept agreements under conditions other than those previously accepted, or who causes the cessation, termination or continuation of a job. It is deemed to have been committed and will be punished according to the relevant provisions.
Qualified cases of the crime of preventing the freedom of work and work are specified in Article 119 of the TURKISH CRIMINAL LAW. Apart from the ones listed, in case of aggravated situations due to the result of the crime of willful injury during the prevention of the right to work, the provisions regarding the crime of willful injury are also applied. In other words, if the aggravated consequences of the crime of willful injury arise, the person who commits this crime will be punished both for the crime of willful injury and for the crime of preventing the freedom of work and work.
