As Turkish teachers' strike continue at the Private Italian High School in Beyoğlu, İstanbul, the District Education Directorate has appointed new teachers to the school, which the union views as an attempt to break the strike.
As the newly appointed teachers arrived yesterday for their first day on the job, about 70 teachers, parents and community members gathered outside the gates of the school to protest, displaying banners like "Don't sell your honor" and "Hands off the strike." The group has maintained a tent at the site since they initiated the strike on Feb 2.
Parents spoke in solidarity, and were then followed by teachers from the Tez-Koop-İş Union. Teachers said that it is illegal and unethical for the education directorate to appoint the new teachers, violating anti-streakbreaker laws.
Italian teachers earn six times more
Italian teachers at the school earn about six times more than their Turkish colleagues. Local teachers also reported working longer hours and receiving little respect from leadership, often not even being greeted in the mornings.
The situation has caused a rift between some of the Turkish and Italian educators, said Şebnem İtin, a teacher and union member. The administration has attempted to exploit this rift by spreading rumors that the union wants salaries equal to their Italian counterparts and even to close the school down completely.
“Now [some of the Italian teachers] are not talking to us," she said. "Some are very nice and polite as usual … but some of them look away or pretend to be on the phone when they leave the school."
The goal of the strike is not to earn equal to their Italian counterparts, but rather to have their salaries matched to the standards of Turkish teachers working in other foreign schools, İtin explained.
Yet, the school administration has not conceded any ground, with principal Giuseppe Finocchiaro showing the teachers the door if they have a problem with their salaries, according to İtin.
"We want our dignity back, we want respect, and we want a salary which is similar to similar schools … even the [Italian dual-citizen] secretaries … earn triple times more than us” İtin added.
'A lesson to be remembered beyond school years'
Speaking on behalf of the parents, Banu Evrim Taşol said that Turkish inflation rates are used when calculating tuition fee increases, while teachers only receive raises in line with Italian inflation rates. Italy's annual inflation was 1.5% in 2025, whereas Turkey's was over 30%.
Alper Ergene, a father of a student at the school, was one of about 30 parents who attended the demonstration to show solidarity. He expressed concern that despite sending his child to the school specifically for their high quality educators, his child was being deprived of that right by the school administration.
He, like many other parents, though, recognized that the teachers were giving a lesson the children would remember far beyond their school years.
“These teachers are giving the last and the best lesson to all of us about how to search for rights … and how to ask for justice,” he said. (İK/VK)
