TURKISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY – DRAFT GUIDELINES ON COMPETITION VIOLATIONS IN LABOUR MARKETS OPENED TO PUBLIC CONSULTATION

18/09/2024

Turkish Competition Authority (“TCA”) has finally published the Draft Guidelines for Competition Violations in Labour Markets (“Draft Labour Guidelines”), which has been the subject of discussions for a long time and determines the competition violations in the labour markets, and submitted it to public opinion. With the Draft Labour Force Guidelines, TCA aims to set out the basic principles regarding the assessment of the effects of anti-competitive behaviour on labour markets in the detection and supervision of anti-competitive behaviour.

The draft guideline prepared within this scope covers the following issues:

• The place and importance of the conduct between undertakings in labour markets within the scope of Act No. 4054,
• What are the types of violations that may occur in the labour markets within the framework of Article 4 of Act No. 4054, how such violations are/will be evaluated and what are the issues to be considered by third parties regarding the relevant violations,
• In which cases an ancillary restraint assessment of agreements between competitors in labour markets would constitute infringement and in which cases it would not,
• The extent to which Articles 5, 6 and 7 of Act No. 4054 can be applied to agreements and actions in labour markets.

In the aforementioned guidelines, TCA evaluated the anticompetitive nature of practices such as wage fixing agreements, employee non-distortion agreements, information exchanges and ancillary restraints in the labour markets under Article 4 and stated that wage fixing and employee non-distortion agreements and information exchanges for the purpose of restricting competition under Article 5 cannot benefit from exemption as a rule. In addition, TCA has determined that the dominant position assessment will examine whether the undertaking is in a dominant position both in the relevant product or service market and in the relevant labour market. Finally, TCA has specified which variables will be taken into account in determining the effect of mergers and acquisitions on competition in the labour market.

(TCA – 16.09.2024)

 

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