When work kills
When work kills
396 workers died and 2 thousand 453 workers were injured in work related accidents in Turkey between January-September 2011, according to statistics of the Occupational Health and Safety Council.
The events of deaths and injuries arising from working accidents due to the legal deficiency and gaps in the sub-contract system, unhealthy working conditions and safety deficiencies turn Turkey to a “working hell” for workers and laborers. The most recent report of Istanbul Occupational Health and Safety Council proves the seriousness of the situation.
While records show that one inspector is responsible for every 50 thousand workplaces, the government side puts all the blame on workers instead of prompting workers' organizations against the current situation and taking a step by making the necessary legal and practical arrangements to heal the situation.
According to experts on the subject, 98 percent of the “work killings” can be prevented by making a few simple changes. Faruk Çelik, the State Minister of the Turkish government which avoids taking over responsibility concerning the subject, stated that “workers didn’t complain” after a work accident where 20 workers lost their lives and 52 others were injured. On the other hand, Minister of Labor and Social Security Ömer Dinçer similarly put the blame on workers, saying; “Even if we take the structural and technological measures, it will be a great disability if people don’t attach importance to their own lives.”
Within the second quarter of the Turkish economy, in September, when the Statistics Institute of Turkey (TÜÝK) recorded a growth of 8.8 percent, the number of deaths (56) and injuries (686) of workers reached the highest figure of the last nine months, according to data by Occupational Health and Safety Council.
According to the report, work accidents were mostly seen at shipyards and in the branches of mining, construction, energy, metal, cement, seasonal agriculture, textile and leather and in cities with intense industrialization. Workers, who are forced to work in these sectors under difficult and inconvenient working conditions, suffer from different work accidents and lose their lives or get injured.
Istanbul Occupational Health and Safety Council member Berna Güler Müftüoðlu remarks that employers don’t give enough attention to safety at work to minimize the cost in the market system which bases on competition. Noting that flexible employment leads to deaths and injuries at work on grounds of the intention to save more work with fewer workers and long working hours.
Underlining that awareness must be created throughout Turkey in the face of all these problems in the working life since the rate of unionization is around five percent only, Müftüoðlu indicates that all kinds of organized constituents need to make a move and struggle for workers’ health and safety at work. “Otherwise the developing unresponsive process will lead to the loss of acquired rights and ‘social rights’, warns Müftüoðlu and emphasizes that powerful organization channels and a strong pressure mechanism need to be formed in this regard.
The events of deaths and injuries arising from working accidents due to the legal deficiency and gaps in the sub-contract system, unhealthy working conditions and safety deficiencies turn Turkey to a “working hell” for workers and laborers. The most recent report of Istanbul Occupational Health and Safety Council proves the seriousness of the situation.
While records show that one inspector is responsible for every 50 thousand workplaces, the government side puts all the blame on workers instead of prompting workers' organizations against the current situation and taking a step by making the necessary legal and practical arrangements to heal the situation.
According to experts on the subject, 98 percent of the “work killings” can be prevented by making a few simple changes. Faruk Çelik, the State Minister of the Turkish government which avoids taking over responsibility concerning the subject, stated that “workers didn’t complain” after a work accident where 20 workers lost their lives and 52 others were injured. On the other hand, Minister of Labor and Social Security Ömer Dinçer similarly put the blame on workers, saying; “Even if we take the structural and technological measures, it will be a great disability if people don’t attach importance to their own lives.”
Within the second quarter of the Turkish economy, in September, when the Statistics Institute of Turkey (TÜÝK) recorded a growth of 8.8 percent, the number of deaths (56) and injuries (686) of workers reached the highest figure of the last nine months, according to data by Occupational Health and Safety Council.
According to the report, work accidents were mostly seen at shipyards and in the branches of mining, construction, energy, metal, cement, seasonal agriculture, textile and leather and in cities with intense industrialization. Workers, who are forced to work in these sectors under difficult and inconvenient working conditions, suffer from different work accidents and lose their lives or get injured.
Istanbul Occupational Health and Safety Council member Berna Güler Müftüoðlu remarks that employers don’t give enough attention to safety at work to minimize the cost in the market system which bases on competition. Noting that flexible employment leads to deaths and injuries at work on grounds of the intention to save more work with fewer workers and long working hours.
Underlining that awareness must be created throughout Turkey in the face of all these problems in the working life since the rate of unionization is around five percent only, Müftüoðlu indicates that all kinds of organized constituents need to make a move and struggle for workers’ health and safety at work. “Otherwise the developing unresponsive process will lead to the loss of acquired rights and ‘social rights’, warns Müftüoðlu and emphasizes that powerful organization channels and a strong pressure mechanism need to be formed in this regard.
