Ei-iE

In recent weeks, EI member organisation Egitim-Sen and the Confederation of Public Employees’ Unions (KESK) – to which EI’s member is affiliated – have suffered a series of attacks by the Turkish authorities, including the occupation and searches of the trade union premises by the security forces, arrest and preventive detention of trade union leaders and the use of excessive violence by the police against teachers demonstrating peacefully.

The recent wave of arrest and detention of Egitim Sen and KESK leaders and activists started on Thursday 28 May 2009 when the Turkish police launched operations in the KESK headquarters in Ankara and in the KESK local branch offices in Izmir, Istanbul, Van and Manisa. More than 30 KESK and Egitim-Sen members were arrested, including members of administrative boards of Egitim-Sen local branches, a member of the Egitim-Sen executive board, and both Women Secretaries of Egitim-Sen and KESK, Gulcin Isbert and Songul Morsümbül. Documents and computers were seized by the police.

Arrested trade unionists were transferred to the Izmir local court for investigation. According to the Turkish press, the operation was “set up in the framework of a bigger operation aimed at cracking down on the terrorist organisation PKK”.

On 29 May 2009, EI, together with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), wrote to the Turkish Government to protest against these anti-union attacks. Egitim-Sen and KESK received support from many trade union organisations around the world. However the authorities disregarded the international appeals to stop the attacks.

Join EI in our appeal to stop the attacks on trade unions! There are currently still 22 Egitim-Sen and KESK officials in detention, including the women secretaries of both organisations.

Go to www.ei-ie.org/turkey to read our Urgent Action Appeal and sign our online petition!