EDE-SEN Founded: Turkish Educators Form New Union for Employee Rights

EDE-SEN Officially Formed: A New Era for Turkey’s Non-Staff Educators

ANKARA — In a major turning point for non-staff educational personnel across Turkey, the “Platform of Master Trainers and Tuition-Paid Teachers” has officially announced the establishment of its new labor organization: The Education Support Workers Union (EDE-SEN).

Operating under the core motto “Our strength is in education, our future is together!”, the union brings a fresh wave of institutional advocacy for thousands of educators who have long operated without standard civil servant guarantees. The initiative, heavily supported by prominent independent platforms online, transitions their grassroots campaign into a formalized, legally recognized labor struggle.

Key Reform Demands Placed on the Table

For years, both tuition-paid teachers (ücretli öğretmenler) and vocational master trainers (usta öğreticiler) have navigated precarious working conditions. Through the launch of EDE-SEN, union leadership has formalized three critical legislative and structural demands aimed at the Ministry of National Education:

• Legal Status and Employee Rights: Securing a defined, permanent employment status that guarantees standard social security, healthcare benefits, and job security comparable to tenured staff.
• Abolishing Public Education Center Quotas: Completely removing the restrictive enrollment and course hour quotas currently limiting employment capacity in public education centers (Halk Eğitim Merkezleri).
• Continuous Compensation Rights: Ending the systematic practice of deducting daily wages during official, religious, and seasonal school holidays, ensuring stable monthly income.

A Unified Stand Against Precarious Employment

“We are embarking on this new journey together to become the definitive voice for every education support worker who pours their labor into this field,” the union’s founding declaration stated. Representatives emphasize that the struggle will now be fueled by the collective bargaining power and legal infrastructure of a formalized union.

The launch of EDE-SEN has sent a strong wave of optimism through Turkey’s academic community, signaling a major push towards eliminating economic inequalities and achieving workplace dignity for non-staff education professionals.