Union-Recognition and Plant-Restart Leader

The mandate

A high-volume appliance plant paused production after conflict over union recognition escalated into access disputes and supervisor misconduct allegations. An independent investigation found inconsistent manager behaviour but did not determine the recognition process. Employees fear retaliation, supervisors lack clear boundaries and seasonal production is approaching. The plant employee-relations lead was dismissed after sending an unauthorised workforce message about representation status.

The interim must take Istanbul authority within five days and lead ten months through safe restart, trusted recognition processes and one seasonal production peak. Recruitment for a permanent plant employee-relations director begins when investigation actions are closed and representative engagement follows one documented protocol, expected in month five. The successor will chair a worker forum and one disruption exercise during four weeks of overlap.

Handover requires verified investigation actions, non-retaliation controls, representative access and communication protocols, manager conduct standards, case triage, safe restart interfaces, meeting records, supervisor training and workforce confidence indicators. The peak period must complete without ungoverned commitments or material misconduct recurrence. The successor inherits open cases, legal questions, representation milestones and local relationship risks.

The interim may suspend managers within delegated policy, halt unauthorised communications, control employee-relations forums, deploy trained case resources and commit up to TRY 120 million from approved recovery funding. Formal recognition, collective terms, dismissals, litigation, security action and production restart approval remain with authorised bodies. Operations and safety leaders retain responsibility for physical readiness and output.

Production planning, security investigation, legal interpretation, payroll transformation and bargaining topics unrelated to recognition or restart remain outside scope. The seat owns workforce trust recovery, manager conduct, representative process integrity, case governance, communication and succession. It cannot promise recognition outcome, suppress worker voice or trade case closure for short-term attendance.

Why this seat is open

An unauthorised representation message deepened mistrust during a plant shutdown and led to leadership dismissal. Operations needs a dependable restart, while employees require credible protection and clear access routes. Temporary employee-relations authority can implement investigation actions and prove disciplined engagement through the seasonal peak before permanent leadership begins.

What you will own

• Convert investigation findings into accountable manager actions, non-retaliation safeguards, evidence and closure dates.
• Establish consistent workforce communication, representative access, meeting, escalation and decision-record protocols.
• Triage misconduct, retaliation, access, attendance and supervisor cases by urgency, consequence and required authority.
• Align workforce forums with safety and operational restart gates without taking production or recognition decisions.
• Retrain supervisors on conduct, worker voice, documentation, escalation and prohibited local commitments.
• Monitor confidence, complaints, absence, turnover, representation activity and manager behaviour through the seasonal peak.
• Transfer controlled case files, workforce protocols, action evidence, relationship maps and trained plant HR leadership to the permanent successor.

Candidate qualifications

• Held executive employee-relations authority during union recognition conflict and restart of a large manufacturing plant.
• Implemented misconduct findings and non-retaliation safeguards while workforce representation remained contested.
• Restored supervisor discipline, employee communication and representative access after an operational shutdown under intense seasonal pressure.
• Worked with legal, safety, security and operations leaders without assuming their formal decisions.
• Protected employee voice and due process under intense seasonal production and public scrutiny.
• Handed stable plant relations to permanent leadership after live forums, case cycles and peak operations.

Non-negotiables

• Can take onsite Istanbul responsibility within five days and remain present through the restart phase.
• Will accept exclusive executive accountability for conduct actions, representative process and workforce-risk escalation.
• Brings union-recognition crisis recovery in manufacturing; standard grievance handling or negotiation support is insufficient.
• Must disclose employer, union, investigator, security, law-firm and worker-representative relationships.

1. 49 words maximum. Describe a plant restart where employee trust, not physical readiness, was the binding condition.
2. 49 words maximum. Which safeguard proves an investigation action will not produce retaliation against worker voice?
3. 49 words maximum. State your Istanbul availability and the most sensitive recognition conflict you led.