Adapting to international capitalism and increasing flexibility of the labour market: the new law on labour relationships in Turkey

The new law on industrial relations in Turkey is part of a larger movement intended to redefine the forms of social relations management. From this point of view, the context in which the law was adopted is revealing. The genesis of the law was placed under the sign of the "social dialogue", a concept which Turkish institutions and social actors appropriated. Moreover, this law is part of the process of redefinition of the role of the State, which has become a public management device sensitive to "market" constraints, as well as the guarantor of minimal social norms. Finally, the law's clear objective is to increase the flexibility of labour regulations and legalise informal economic practices. Through these transformations, workers' unions become institutionalised negotiators and tend to give up their weapon of collective mobilisation.