Many teachers detained protesting new law outside of top court

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Representatives of Eğitim-Sen and Eğitim-İş, two teachers unions who organized a sit-in protest named "Occupation Watch" today (November 9) outside of the Constitutional Court for the repeal of a new occupational law were raided by the police and detained.

The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) had taken the new law to the Constitutional Court and the Court was to hear this case in respect of substance today.

The Ankara police surrounded the union representatives in action and kept the journalists from taking pictures. The police have taken Simge Yardım and Ahmet Karagöz, members of Central Executive Committee of Eğitim-Sen and Kadem Özbay, the President, Hüseyin Selçuk, the General Secretary and Orhan Yıldırım, the Legal Secretary of Eğitim-İş into custody. The union announced that their representatives were taken into custody "after being hit, insulted and hand-cuffed from the back."

Eğitim-İş Union also said, "... It is first of all slaughter of the principle of rule of law that our union was attacked while using one of the most democratic rights secured by the Constitution in a peaceful manner in front of the Constitutional Court which is the last and the most significant gate to law in Türkiye."

The new law

The new occupational law for teachers does not include any basic rights for teachers in the private sector.

The law divides the teachers in public schools in categories such as a candidate teacher/teacher/expert teacher/headteacher, and defines different career steps and different salaries for teachers doing the same job.

The law also brings advantages for teachers doing postgraduate studies, but the relevance of postgraduate education outside the education field is questioned while there are also concerns about some private universities preparing to provide postgraduate diplomas for a fee without any academic studies.

The new law introduces a "Career Steps Examination" and a "Central Examination Commission" that will serve directly under the Ministry. Teachers' unions argue that this will bring about more favoritism and also division and unrest among teachers. (RT/PE/VK)