'I was already hungry': Private school teachers continue hunger strike in Ankara

Private sector teachers and educators denied public school appointments through oral interviews are continuing their hunger strike launched in Ankara on Jun 15.

Protesters are demanding higher wages to narrow the pay gap with public school staff, alongside improved employment rights and working conditions.

They launched the hunger strike following a police crackdown on their demonstrations for two consecutive days, during which officers used tear gas and detained more than 40 people, including union leaders.

Burcu Çıra, a member of the Private Sector Teachers Union who has taught mathematics for 11 years, said "I was already hungry" regarding the hunger strike. She has been a union member since its founding.

Çıra said that being forced to start a hunger strike as a teacher was "humiliating" but they had no other choice left:

"We also said this when making our statement: This is a declaration of helplessness. We have no other choice left. Because we are already hungry every day. I have been trying to get by the last six to seven months of my life by cutting down to a single meal. I am already hungry. So let this become more declared and proven."

'Salaries cover only rents'

According to Çıra, the demand for a base salary, personal rights, and humane working conditions is a direct matter of survival for teachers.

"These are our demands for life. Because we cannot live right now, we cannot make ends meet," Çıra said. Living in İstanbul, she explained that her salary is almost equal to her rent.

"The lowest rent in İstanbul right now is 35,000 to 40,000 liras. Despite being senior, I receive a salary of 40,000 liras. I have no space left to live. I cannot survive without the support of my family or my circle, or without finding additional work or private tutoring.

"Reacting to teachers being forced to take on additional work, Çıra asked, "I am a teacher. Why should I work an extra job? Why do I have to work in a cafe, a bar, or a hotel?"

Çıra added that contract processes in private schools also progress in a way that forces teachers to accept low wages:

"They leave us until August. They force us into low wages. You panic thinking you could not find a job, wondering what you will do. They are already organized. The jobs we find also have very bad working conditions and very low wages."

'They are content with teachers going hungry'

Çıra said the National Educaton Ministry doesn't care about the conditions faced by private school teachers, making a call to her colleagues:

"We want them to see, hear, and amplify the helplessness of teachers. We want them to voice the teachers' concerns everywhere. We are not keen on holding such protests, organizing resistance, being detained, beaten, or going hungry. But we are forced to now. I cannot live anyway. This is concrete proof of that for us."

'Marches will begin in neighborhoods'

Eren Edebali, the head of the Private Sector Teachers Union, said protest marched will be staged in various places of Ankara and called for the public to support them. 

"We want the people of Ankara not just to come to our side, but to participate in the marches in their neighborhoods, districts, and regions. We want them to show that teachers cannot be squeezed onto a single sidewalk.

"There are families, mothers, and young teachers coming from different parts of Turkey who are victims in this matter. This togetherness is an image that refutes the efforts to marginalize us.

"Last Sunday, 300 to 350 of us came here. Our image was truly such an image. They did not want this to come to light. Our mothers are dragged on the ground. Our headscarfed friends are detained. They are trying to separate and divide us, but they cannot succeed in this."

'No meeting is held with ministry'

Edebali said that an official meeting invitation was issued a year ago by the Labor and Social Security Ministry to discuss the personal rights of teachers working in private educational institutions, particularly the base salary, but this meeting has not taken place:

"There are promises given both by the National Education Ministry and by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, specifically by the Justice and Development Party (AKP), ruling party, through the National Education Commission.

"The Labor Ministry has an official meeting invitation sent to our union, boss associations, and relevant ministries. The content of this meeting was about the personal rights of teachers working in private educational institutions, especially their base salary.

"Despite the official letter being issued, the meeting has not been held for a year. Because the boss associations do not want to come, and the Labor Ministry cannot convince them."

Edebali added that promises were also made by Yusuf Tekin, the head of the National Education Commission and the national education minister, but these promises have not been implemented. (NÖ/VK)