Mandatory Mediation in Labour Law
New Law on Labour Courts introduced mandatory mediation as a condition of litigating in courts in Turkey as of 1 January 2018. Mediation Directorate of the Ministry of Justice issued the statistics for the first month of 2018, which indicates 70% success rate. Among 6 thousand 423 mediation processes that were initiated in January 2018, 4 thousand 637 mediation processes were settled amicably. Ministry of Justice is encouraged by these results and considering introducing mandatory mediation for commercial disputes.
Mandatory mediation is considered to be helpful for the settlement of disputes in a short time. Average trial period for labour cases in Turkey is 434 days, whereas, maximum time for the settlement of the disputes through mediation in January 2018 were 4 days.
The confidentiality of the mediation meetings ensures the discussion of certain problems more candidly. When the litigation costs are taken into account, mediation seems to be a viable option for both the employees and the employers.
