From labour–capital conflict to social dialogue? A critical review of social-dialogue discourse in Turkey

Abstract

In itself, the term ‘social dialogue’ signifies that the historical conflict between social classes has been replaced with ‘compromise’. In this paper, compromise discourse is first hesitantly approached, and then critically evaluated. In the first instance, it is clear that contrary to what the term ‘social dialogue’ might imply, in reality it is used as a curtain with which to cover hegemonic power relations. Secondly, the question as to whether the term ‘social dialogue’ can describe Turkish industrial relations is raised. As a result, it is argued that social dialogue is not a suitable word with which to discuss the current industrial relations climate in Turkey.