Trustees in Van do not reinstate workers they dismissed despite court decision

The trustee, who was appointed to the usurped Van Metropolitan Municipality, dismissed 306 workers in 2018. Some of the workers committed suicide because they could not find another job, while others lost their lives while helping after the avalanche. Many workers had to emigrate to survive. Despite winning the legal battle, the workers were not reinstated to their jobs.

Van Administrative and Erzurum Regional Courts found the workers right and ordered the municipality to reinstate them to their jobs. However, Murat Zorluoğlu, the trustee of the Van Metropolitan Municipality, and other trustees, did not implement the court’s decision.

Mesut Babat, father of four, was one of the 306 workers laid off in 2018. Babat, who could not bring bread to his children, committed suicide.

Hüsnü Timur, who worked in Van Metropolitan Municipality for many years, could not find a job after he was fired. Timur died of a heart attack when he saw the enforcement officers in front of him.

Murat Kapağan worked in the municipality for years. He went to help people after the floods in Bahçesaray. He was caught in the second avalanche there, and his body was found days later.

Many workers had their houses seized by banks as they could not pay their debts, and many workers were evicted from their homes by their landlords as they could not pay the rent.