Turkish MPs Raise University Mobbing Allegations in Parliament

Turkish lawmakers from the Workers' Party of Turkey (EMEP) have brought allegations of mobbing and unfair dismissal at Istanbul Gedik University to the national parliament. MPs İskender Bayhan and Sevda Karaca submitted a parliamentary question to the Minister of National Education, Yusuf Tekin, demanding action.

Their inquiry focuses on the case of Uğur Eren Yasak, a research assistant who was allegedly removed from his academic duties, subjected to mobbing, and had his contract not renewed after he raised concerns about practices within the university's Faculty of Architecture and Design. Yasak was reportedly reassigned to work as an "architect" in a different campus's construction and technical department, where he was allegedly left without a workspace or concrete tasks for months, isolating him from his students and academic work.

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The court found the reassignment "clearly unlawful."

The lawmakers argue that this reassignment was not based on academic or administrative needs but was intended to isolate and neutralize an academic who had objected to university management. They highlighted that a court ruling found Yasak's reassignment "clearly unlawful" and rejected the university's appeal. However, the university reportedly failed to comply with the court's decision within the legal timeframe and did not reinstate Yasak to his academic position.

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It was concluded that "mobbing was found to have occurred."

Further complicating the situation, an inspection initiated by Yasak's complaint to the "ALO 170" hotline concluded that "mobbing was found to have occurred." This finding, documented in a letter from the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Labor and Social Security on August 29, 2025, has led to criticism that Yasak was merely directed to individual legal recourse without any administrative or disciplinary action taken against responsible university officials.

Bayhan stated that this case is not isolated to Gedik University but exemplifies a broader trend in foundation universities, including precarious employment, arbitrary assignments, mobbing, and dismissals through contract non-renewal. The MPs expressed dismay that despite the court's ruling and the ministry's finding of mobbing, the Higher Education Council (YÖK) did not deem it necessary to launch an investigation into key university officials.

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This is a concrete example of precarious work, arbitrary assignments, mobbing, and dismissals through contract non-renewal, which are becoming widespread in foundation universities.