Turkey declares Italian high school executive 'persona non grata'
• Local teachers at the school staged a four-month strike over a massive pay gap with their Italian colleagues
• After the strike ended in victory for the teachers, the school administration began dismissing participants on various grounds, in violation of the collective bargaining agreement
• Following the dismissals, school principal Giuseppe Finocchiaro was stripped of both his administrative and diplomatic roles
The Foreign Ministry has declared an executive of İstanbul Private Italian High School persona non grata following the school's decision to dismiss teachers who joined a strike this year, a union representing the educators has announced.
Giuseppe Finocchiaro was already dismissed as the school’s principal by the National Education Ministry, but remained its “founding representative,” a status governed by diplomatic rules.
The decision followed a dispute in which local teachers at the school staged a four-month strike over a wide pay gap with their Italian colleagues and what they described as discriminatory practices by the administration.
The strike ended on Jun 4 after the teachers’ demands were accepted. However, after a collective bargaining agreement was signed, the school dismissed 10 teachers who had taken part in the strike within less than two months.
The ministry launched an investigation into the school following the dismissals and removed Finocchiaro as principal, along with his deputy, Nida İntiba, on Jul 10. With today's decision, Finocchiaro is stripped of all his roles and is required to leave the country.
Several European countries operate high schools in Turkey under special bilateral agreements that grant them a distinct legal status. The Italian high school is one of these institutions.
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'A historic success'
The Tez-Koop-İş union described the decision as "a historic success" in their struggle against what they described an environment of workplace harassment created by the school administration.
"No diplomat or administrator has the privilege of violating teachers' constitutional right to organize, disregarding the law and punishing unionized workers with unemployment and isolation," said the union.
It called for the immediate return of the 10 teachers whose contracts were terminated after the strike, compliance with the collective agreement signed through official mediation, and an end to "psychological pressure and discrimination against unionized staff." (VK)
