Strike at schools in central Iskele and surrounding areas on 12 November

A strike will take place at schools in central Iskele and surrounding areas on the afternoon of Thursday, 12 November. The decision announced by the Cyprus Turkish Secondary Education Teachers’ Trade Union (KTOEÖS) concerns the afternoon education schedule of students and parents in the region. The announcement did not specify the names of the schools affected or the start and end times of the strike.

According to a statement by KTOEÖS President Ahmet Karaoğulları, a press statement and protest will also be held at Iskele’s Ecevit Square at 14.00 on the same day. The meeting point was announced as opposite the Gençlerbirliği Sports Club. The union’s programme includes both the afternoon strike at schools and the protest to be held in the square.

Teachers’ rights and working conditions on the agenda

Karaoğulları said the strike was prompted by demands concerning the rights of teachers appointed after the Social Security Law and the Migration Law. He said these teachers had suffered losses of rights and argued that the union’s demands regarding those losses had not been taken into consideration.

Karaoğulları claimed that teachers and the union had been excluded from the process through unilateral decisions, and said they would respond through strikes and protests to pressure on rights, freedoms and working conditions. The union therefore cited both its objections concerning teachers’ rights and its criticism of decision-making processes as reasons for the protest.

The announcement provided no details on the financial implications of the demands or the specific rights for which changes were sought. The announced schedule consists of a strike at schools in central Iskele and surrounding areas on the afternoon of 12 November, followed by a gathering in the square at 14.00.