Turkish Employers’ Association of Metal Industries, MESS was established in İstanbul, in 14 October 1959. In co-operation and solidarity with the employers in the metal and electronic industries, MESS aims to develop well-balanced, reliable, and stable industrial relations, while increasing the competitiveness and the productivity of industry.
The target of MESS is to provide sustainable and extensive peaceful working conditions, based on mutual trust and dialogue, in cohesion with the common interests of our country, of our members and employees. MESS aims at developing and extending work peace in accordance with the joint interests of its members. Achieving this aim accurately, on time and with state-of-the-art methods is the quality policy of MESS.
As a founding member of TİSK (Turkish Confederation of Employers’ Associations) MESS, is structured to support member companies to become more productive and highly qualified, to enable them to get successful results in the midst of a turbulent, dangerous, and rapidly changing economic, technological and social environment.
During strikes an lock-outs MESS organizes the mutual assistance among its members. MESS supplies financial help to its members in accordance with the conditions stipulated in the Regulation for Strike and Lock-Out Fund.
MESS leads the negotiations in the collective bargaining process and concludes the agreements on behalf of its members. With Group Collective Agreements MESS provides working conditions in accordance with the joint interests and expectations of its members as well as solidarity among them.
MESS provides legal consultancy on labour legislation and helps to solve the problems encountered in practice. MESS follows the legislation concerning industrial relations, observes the application of the new labour legislation and the problems arising in this process, and informs its members about the obtained results. MESS examines the draft bills and presents its opinions to the authorities as a social partner.
MESS takes part in lawsuits of its members that can form an example for the whole business community. MESS represents its members in special arbitration cases emerging from the implementation and interpretation process of the Collective Agreements.
MESS monitors the national and international developments in the fields of industrial relations and economy. MESS collects data for statistical purposes; prepares reports and documents. With the contribution of its members MESS periodically conducts the research studies about labour costs and wages in the metal and electronic industries.
MESS works on the introduction, development and revision of the Job Evaluation and Grouping Scheme of the Metal Industry, a system that is being used already by two thirds of its members.
MESS inspects and reviews the accidents at its members, and gives consultative assistance during legal and administrative procedures. MESS furnishes the managers of the member companies with the necessary information in solving technical and legal problems concerning health and safety issues. MESS conducts general and technical courses, seminars, conferences and meetings on health and safety matters for managers and workers.
Believing that a qualified workforce who is capable of adapting itself rapidly to the changing conditions is the most important competitive advantage of the countries, MESS contributes to the training and development of the workforce in every aspect by joint training projects, publication materials and other activities.
MESS pioneered MESS Training Foundation (MEV) in 1986. MEV gives broad training services in various issues for the MESS members. MEV provides training courses for workers in order to develop their knowledge and ability and to gain professional and technical skills within the principle of lifelong learning.
Signing a Technical Cooperation Agreement with REFA on May 2004, MESS became the sole partner of REFA in Turkey. MESS-REFA cooperation aims to improve and increase the competitiveness and the productivity of the enterprises that are active in production manufacturing and service industries.
Having the responsibility of being a social partner, MESS actively participates and involves EU funded projects in the field of vocational education and training.
MESS participates in the activities of the international organizations by monitoring the international developments in the field of the industrial relations. MESS furnishes its members with full information on the trends emerging in the field of industrial relations. MESS represents its members in Council of European Employers Metal Engineering And Technology Based Industries (CEEMET) and in International Industry Relations Association (IIRA).
MESS also represents its members in international organizations through TİSK (Turkish Confederation of Employers’ Associations).
As EU integration has always been one of MESS’s priorities, MESS started the “MESS-EU Harmonisation Project” in 2002. The aim of the project is to give information to our members on EU, EU acquis communautaire and EU-Turkey relations. In this context, a portal on our web site is being broadcasted since then.
