Municipal Employee Not Reinstated or Paid Despite Winning Lawsuits

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Dilek Akarca used to work at Yalova Municipality's Directorate of Culture and Social Affairs. Working as a contracted employee, she filed a lawsuit in 2014 to become a permanent employee. Although she won the lawsuit, she was not tenured.

Akarca then filed another lawsuit in 2017, requesting the difference between the salary of a contracted worker and a permanent staff member. Because of filing the lawsuit, she was fired from her job.

She opened the third lawsuit for her reinstatement and won that lawsuit. Yet, the municipality neither hired her back nor paid the amount of money that was determined by the court. There are three other colleagues of Akarca who are facing the same situation.

Not being able to get a result from her legal struggle, Akarca tried to make her voice heard at a meeting of the municipal council on Monday (January 6).

The mayor of the northwestern city, Vefa Salman, and her wife, were celebrating the 30th anniversary of their marriage. When Akarca and her colleagues tried to speak at the council, the mayor ended the session.

Lawsuit on the advice of the former mayor

Akarca told bianet that she worked at the municipality for 12 years and filed a lawsuit to become a permanent worker on the advice of the previous mayor, Yakup Koçal, who participated in the 2009 local elections as an independent candidate and joined the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in 2013.

By the time they won the lawsuit, the 2014 local elections were held and Salman, the candidate of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) assumed office after winning the elections.

"When we conveyed the situation to the new mayor, he told me that he would not employ us as permanent workers. We continued to work as contracted employees," she said.

After they filed another lawsuit in 2017, "Vefa Salman sent his lawyers and told us to withdraw the lawsuit and we would be fired if we didn't withdraw it," Akarca said.

Fired after not withdrawing the lawsuit

"After we didn't withdraw the lawsuit, we were verbally notified on May 23, 2017, that we were fired. There was not an official notification and we continued to work," she said, adding that they received notifications a few days later. She has been unemployed since then.

"After we became unemployed, we filed a lawsuit for reinstatement. We got in contact with CHP Vice-Chair Responsible for Local Administrations Seyit Torun," she noted. The mayor had told Torun that it "became a matter of honor" and that he would not hire the four workers, Akarca said.

Marriage anniversary at municipal council

Talking about the incident on Monday, Akarca said that the mayor and his wife cut a cake before the municipal council session, celebrating the 30th anniversary of their marriage.

"The session began. I asked twice for the floor but he said, 'This is not the place for that,' and gave the floor to other people. Later on, when I stood up, he said, 'No one other than council members can speak at the council,' and quickly ended the session."

If a marriage anniversary can be celebrated at the council, then she should be able to speak, Akarca said.

"I have been unemployed since 2017. I am unemployed despite winning all the lawsuits," she said, adding that she will begin to demonstrate in front of the municipal hall on Monday if she is not paid. (HA/VK)