Investigative committee of the Competition Authority demanded fines for 16 companies
Oral defenses have begun in the investigation carried out by the Competition Board for gentlemen’s agreements between companies in relation to the labor market.
At the meeting held at the Competition Authority, the Chairman of the Competition Board, Birol Küle, recalled that by making a gentleman’s agreement for the labor market, some companies launched an investigation to determine whether article 4 of the Protection Law of Competition No. 4054 was violated.
Küle gave the floor to the defense committee, stating that parts of Vodafone Telekomünikasyon AŞ and Türk Telekomünikasyon AŞ’s defenses containing trade secrets will be heard in secret session.
The Representative of the Investigation Commission recalled that the Competition Board initiated an investigation into the complaint that article 4 of Law No. 4054 was violated by making a gentlemen’s agreement in labor matters.
Noting that during the investigation process, it was examined whether the companies involved in the investigation entered into an “employee temptation agreement, which consists of preventing the employment of each other’s employees and restricting the mobility of employees,” the representative said. , “In this framework, it has also been observed that there are various vertical business relationships between some companies and that the non-labor temptation contract has vertical relationships in question, it has been investigated whether it is within the scope of used the phrase.
THEY DEMANDED SANCTION TO 16 COMPANIES
In this regard, the representative stated that 16 companies that operate from electronic commerce services to computer consulting, from merchandising and marketing to the food industry, from telecommunications to software systems within the scope of the investigation violated article 4 of the respective law and that the said shares could not benefit from the individual exemption under article 5. expressed the view that a penalty should be applied.
The representative stated that there is no need to impose administrative fines, since 21 companies operating in various fields, from education and consulting to restaurant business, from Internet media services to television broadcasting, from gaming software and marketing to services of technology, they could not detect violations of Article 4 of the law.
After the representative of the commission of investigation, the representatives of the companies, on which an investigation was opened, rejected the allegations and made their oral defenses.
The oral defense of the parties will continue tomorrow.
WHAT IS A KNIGHT’S AGREEMENT?
The object of the file is “employee temptation agreements”, that is, “gentlemen’s agreements”.
These direct or indirect agreements between employers that compete for labor in the labor market can prevent employees from moving between companies and deprive them of job opportunities that offer higher wages and better conditions.
Thus, the competitive structure in the labor market can be damaged by the decrease in the mobility of the labor factor between companies or by the artificial inability to find the real value of wages in exchange for work.
The Competition Authority also aims to ensure a healthy transition of the labor factor between companies. (AA)