A shameful story on November 24 Teachers' Day: Educator punched by boss!

Hazal Güven - 12punto.com.tr

Osman Cesur, who worked as a psychological counselor at the Sivas Yaşam Private Education Center, was punched by his boss. On 03.11.2024, an individual named Ali Buğra Şeker, known as the school's founding director, approached educator Osman Cesur. He began to harass him with an ugly tone, saying, "Are you smoking in your office, you jerk?" Despite Cesur's repeated warnings, the aggressive director did not back down and physically assaulted the educator by punching him.

‘WHAT’S IT TO YOU, JERK?’

The assaulted educator, Cesur, recounted the day of the incident as follows:

“On Sunday, 03.11.2024, around 14:18, he came up to me and started talking. He displayed an aggressive attitude toward me with baseless claims and such a tone, saying things like, 'Are you smoking in your office, you jerk?' There was no such situation. I told him, 'Look, watch your language. You are talking to an educator. Besides, your father told me not to discuss school operations with you. He wanted to be the one addressed regarding this matter. Please don't drag this out, and if there is a problem, I will talk to your father.' I asked, 'Your father said Ali Buğra Şeker would pay the remaining part of the severance pay. If you are making other plans regarding the school, then why isn't my wife's severance being paid?' In response, he said, 'What's it to you, jerk?' I warned him again. I said, 'This tone makes me uncomfortable,' and moved to go up to my office. He blocked my path. Then, he suddenly raised his hand and punched me hard in the left eye.”

Osman Cesur lost consciousness for a while after the attack. He then called the police and an ambulance and was taken for treatment at Sivas State Hospital, the closest facility to the school. Cesur, who received treatment there, was issued a medical report for the assault.

‘I WILL CAUSE YOU FINANCIAL AND MORAL TROUBLE’

Following the incident, the educator was threatened by Abdullah Şeker, the father of the aggressive director Ali Buğra Şeker. Father Abdullah Şeker first tried to persuade Osman Cesur not to file a complaint, and then openly threatened him.

Cesur explains it this way:

“I was treated at the hospital for 2 hours. The father of the assailant, Ali Buğra Şeker, and the father's wife came. They said, 'We are very sorry. We don't find it right that this was done to you.' To be honest, I didn't find them sincere. Later, after I was discharged, the father, Abdullah Şeker, said, 'I apologize to you on behalf of my son. What he did is wrong.' Afterward, I went to rest because the doctor gave me a 5-day medical leave report. Abdullah Şeker called on 04.11.2024. He said he wanted to meet with us. We accepted. When we met, he said, 'This incident is going to very different places. Please drop the complaint. I will give you two severance payments, let this incident be closed.' I told him, 'I have a contract according to the labor law. There are legal consequences. There is a judicial incident committed against me. There is an assault, a battery. I will file the necessary complaint. Let the supreme Turkish court decide on this.' When I gave this answer, the other party started to become aggressive. He said, 'If you complain about us, I will cause you all kinds of financial and moral trouble.' I said, 'That's no problem at all. I was assaulted. I am a victim. I will seek my rights through legal channels.'”

‘I HAD NOT ACCEPTED DEMANDS OUTSIDE MY JOB DESCRIPTION’

The tension between Osman Cesur, who started working at the Sivas Yaşam Private Education Center in July 2023, and his boss Ali Buğra Şeker began a few months after that date. According to Cesur; Şeker demanded that he perform tasks outside of his job description.

“About 6-7 months after I started working, Ali Buğra Şeker, who is referred to as the founding director of this school, tried to make me do some work that was not in my job description. I told him that I could not do these because they were not in my job description. In January 2024, this person walked toward me aggressively. He walked toward me with words like, 'How can you not do the work I give you? You will do the work I give you.' Afterward, his father, Abdullah Şeker, who is the manager of the school, intervened. He told me, 'My child is a bit hot-tempered. Sometimes he cannot control his anger. I will talk to him, Osman Teacher. From this hour on, you never deal with him. I don't want any problems to arise at the school.' I told him, 'If you are going to warn your son about his tone and behavior, I want to trust you on this matter.' The incident was closed like that. Afterward, the same things started to manifest in Ali Buğra Şeker's attitudes toward me. For example, when I took the floor and said something in meetings, I encountered behaviors such as distorting what I said or raising his voice. Since his father knew about this situation, I didn't push it too much. Because after talking to his father, I was talking to his father about anything related to the school.”

‘WE WERE DISMISSED WITH CODE-45, PUSHED INTO MISERY AND POVERTY’

“My wife has also been working there for about 4 years. My wife did not receive her severance pay for 2 months. My wife spoke to them. They paid a certain portion by constantly saying they would pay, but they made us wait for 2 months for the remaining part and put us in a difficult situation in these days of economic crisis.

After we went to the police station and filed a complaint, they terminated our employment along with my wife's. They did this with code 45. When you are dismissed with code 45, you are prevented from receiving your receivables, severance pay, or unemployment benefits. In this way, they pushed us into poverty and misery.”

THE AGGRESSIVE BOSS RECEIVED A MEDICAL REPORT FOR ASSAULT DESPITE NOT BEING ASSAULTED

It turned out that the aggressive boss also received a medical report for assault for himself. It became a matter of curiosity how the director named Ali Buğra Şeker received an assault report even though educator Osman Cesur did not make any physical intervention during the incident.

Cesur explained it as follows:

“As far as I can see in the file, this person also received an assault report for himself. He went to the hospital and slandered us, and received an assault report to clear himself. We already have our assault report, but the other party also has an assault report they received. He did this by cheating. Because as an educator, I did not apply any verbal or physical violence to the other party. I think there are other negligences here as well. There is a furniture store that overlooks the school. The police told us, 'There is no camera angle here that sees the scene of the incident.' Later, we went and examined it and saw that the furniture store's camera shows the place where the incident took place. When we went again, we could not obtain any data because the records were deleted every 6 days.

The incident happened in the blind spot of the camera. But there are moments when the attacker enters the camera's view. It is seen that he is in an aggressive attitude there too. A few people are trying to hold him back. This part is also available in the camera footage. However, since the moment he hit was in the blind spot of the camera, we could not prove it completely with footage.”

‘WE WERE LEFT ALONE’

“They threatened us afterward. I didn't pay attention. I even went to the Sivas Governorship and filed a complaint. We were left alone in this matter. The Provincial Directorate of National Education and the Sivas Governorship did not stand by us. We are going through difficult days. Being subjected to such an incident by a boss in the week of November 24 Teachers' Day deeply wounded us. We want the necessary justice to be served.”