The first legal regulation regarding public employment services in our country is Labour Law with the date 1936 and the number 3008 which is our first law. Said Law had set forth forbidding private offices executing agency business for seeking jobs and employees and establishing the Institution of Providing Jobs and Employees in three years which could enable that this service would be executed by the government. Since the Institution could not be founded within three years, it was determined that law draft of the Institution would be reported to TBMM (Grand National Assembly of Turkey) through the Law with the date 1939 and the number 3612 in two years. However, owing to the interruption caused by 2nd World War, this time span passed and eventually the Institution for Providing Jobs and Employees was established by the Law with the number 4837 in 21st January of 1946 in order to deliver public employment services. In 15.03.1946 the Institution of Providing Jobs and Employees (IPJE) came into operation. The Law with the number 4837 determined the mission of the Institution as agency business for finding jobs and employees, that is, “for employees finding jobs suitable to their qualities and for employers finding employees having suitable qualities for the job.
IPJE began to deliver agency business for finding jobs and employees in labour market and to fulfil the mission to meet labour force need of developing industry and to provide sectoral and geographical mobilisation of labour as of 1946. Together with the developed countries, primarily Germany, needed more labour force and began to fill this gap via foreign workers; IPJE concentrated on sending workers abroad. Stagnation and increasing unemployment in industrial countries after 1973 Oil Crisis caused labour force demand to cease. This development had been the beginning of decline process for IPJE and public employment services focusing on the activity of sending workers abroad. The Institution couldn’t renew itself in delivering the services needed by changing labour market and the role of public services in the labour market increasingly diminished.
Fundamental duties of the Institution of Providing Jobs and Employees was determined in the Law with the date 25.08.1971 and the number 1475; even though, ILO contract with the date 1919 and the number 2 related to unemployment which is determinant for the activities of the Institution was approved in 16.02.1950, ILO contract with the date 1933 ant the number 34 related to liquidating of paid employment agencies was approved in 30.11.1949, ILO contract with the date 1949 and the number 96 related to private unemployment agencies was approved in 08.08.1951, and ILO contract with the date 1964 ant the number 122 related to the employment policy was approved in 9.11.1976
Regulation of labour market materialized before the planned period and approval of said contracts. Accordingly, the Institution could not possess a modern and dynamic structure that could enable labour market be designed within a specific plan and programme at national level. Thus, development of our Institution in our country mostly fell behind the needs, particularly in terms of legal regulations, and individual changes rendered occasionally could not provide activity demanded.
As a natural consequence, the Institution could not go beyond having an appearance of body which tried to fulfil the formalities regarding only the activities of agency of finding jobs and employees, since it could not develop its organizational structure, legal status and personnel regime in accordance with said International Contracts.
As from 1980s globalization, technological improvements and information society raised the importance of employment institutions and extended their functions. In order the Institution to have a structure that could follow the developments occurring in technology and labour force in the world as well as in our country, fulfil the missions delivered by modern employment institutions, and implement active labour force programmes; IPJE was abolished and Turkish Employment Agency (İŞKUR) was founded by the Statutory Decree with the date 4.10.2000 and the number 617.
Nevertheless, the Constitutional Court abrogated the Statutory Decree with the number 617 through its verdict with the date 31.10.2000, the docket no: 2000/63 and the decree no: 2000/36 and gave a ruling that abrogation verdict would come into force nine months after it was published in the Official Gazette. Nine months duration ended 08.08.2001. Since a new legal regulation could not be made within this duration, the Institution had to deliver its activities without a legal basis.
Eventually, the Institution obtained its establishment law through Turkish Employment Agency Law with the number 4904 which was adopted by Grand National Assembly of Turkey in 25.06.2003 and came into force by being promulgated in the Official Gazette with the date 05.07.2003 and the number 25159.
By the new law;
• Turkish Employment Agency established for aiding activities of protecting, improving, generalizing of employment and preventing unemployment, and for executing unemployment insurance services has obtained a structure that enable it to implement active and passive labour force policies alongside its classical services of finding jobs and employees within an extended mission area.
• A General Council, in which social parties have a majority and representatives of public and universities can also participate, has been formed in order to aid creating the employment policy of Turkey, by adopting an organization model open to participative and social dialogue.
• Executive Board including representatives of workers, employers, merchants and craftsmen has been formed as the organ of the institution which possesses the supreme administration and decision-making abilities, authority and responsibility.
• Provincial Employment and Vocational Training Boards have been formed so as to improve local initiative in regional development and determine local employment policies in provinces.
• Establishment of Private Employment Agencies has been permitted so that they render both domestic and overseas activities of finding jobs and employees, and the monopolistic authority of the Institution in this field has been abolished.
• In order to deliver active services in provinces, Regional Directorates have been abrogated and Provincial Directorates have been constituted.
• As career vocation, Employment Expert has been generated in order the missions of the Institution to be delivered actively and to provide qualified personnel employment.
