As Turkey marks the International Workers’ Day or Labour Day, work safety, job guarantee and lack of organized labor remain key problems for the Turkish workers.
According to a report prepared by Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Deputy Chair Gamze Akkuş İlgezdi, nearly 1,7 million workers have been involved in a workplace accident in Turkey from 2003 to 2017, while almost 17,000 have died at work over the same period,
The construction sector ranks first in terms of the number of workers who have had accidents over this period, with 207,967 workers, while this figure amounts to 1,68 million for all the sectors, said the report, which was based on official figures, daily Birgün reported on May 1.
Turkey has been criticized for its poor workplace safety record and its failure to prevent workplace accidents. Labor authorities are widely criticized for failing to conduct the necessary inspections and take precautions to protect workers.
Following the construction sector, the metal manufacturing industry comes second as the most dangerous sector for workers, as 163,393 metal manufacturing workers were involved in a work accident over the last 14 years, the report said. Mining sector in Turkey has also had a high number of work-related accidents, with the figure amounting to 144,593 over the 2003-2017 period.
Accidents have beset Turkey’s mining industry in recent years, with the most devastating one killing 301 coal miners in the western district of Soma on May 13, 2014, the deadliest industrial accident in the country’s history. The miners were killed by carbon monoxide poisoning after an explosion at the Soma Coal Mine Company’s mine in the western province of Manisa.
In the construction sector 5,121 workers have lost their lives in the last 14 years. The next most fatal sector is mining, where 2,565 have their lost lives, followed by the transport sector with 1,651 fatalities.
İlgezdi’s report also cites the number of workers who will not be able to work again due to their workplace related accidents. Between 2003 and 2017, the number of workers who received an “incapacity report” was recorded at 30,681.
According to International Labour Organization (ILO) data, globally, a worker dies of an occupational accident every 15 seconds, while more than 2 million workers die each year due to occupational diseases.
In Turkey in 2017, 2,006 work safety related deaths were recorded by İstanbul Council for Workers’ Health and Work Safety (İSİG), with this number reaching 386 in the first three months of 2018.
Construction remained the deadliest sector in 2017 with 453 workers killed in work accidents, corresponding to 23 percent of all deaths, followed by agriculture with 19 percent and transportation with 13 percent. Traffic accidents were the main cause of deadly work accidents with 22 percent, followed by cave-ins, collapses and landslides with 17 percent and falls with 16 percent.
Unemployment also remained high in 2017 at 10,9 percent, unchanged compared to 2016, with the number of unemployed people increasing by 124,000 to reach 3,454 million. Youth unemployment for ages 15 to 24 was at 20,8 percent in 2017.
Lack of organized labor is also a key problem for the Turkish working class. Only one out of every eight registered workers, 1,7 million out of a total of 13,8 million, a member of a labour union.
Tens of thousands of people gathered across Turkey, including İstanbul and capital Ankara on Tuesday to mark the International Workers’ Day. Labor unions and political parties, including the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) took part in a major rally in İstanbul’s Maltepe district.
Tight security was visible at all entrances and exits to the venues in Maltepe, Beyoğlu, Şişli, and Beşiktaş districts; 26,174 police personnel were on duty in the city. In 2010, tens of thousands of people gathered peacefully in the square for the first time in more than 30 years, but bans on Labour Day gatherings there have re-emerged since 2012.
Turkish government banned gatherings in Beşiktas and Taksim Squares. Early Tuesday, police made several arrests across the city. Officers detained two people who wanted to march towards Taksim Square. Police also detained a group of 56 people who gathered in İstanbul’s Beşiktas district and chanted slogans. Police also detained 6 people in Maltepe, 2 people in Beyoğlu and 2 people in the Şişli district of İstanbul.
Participants of Labour Day rallies carried various banners, including ones which read “Long live May 1” and “Long live our fight for freedom”.
In Ankara, the main May 1 events were held at Anadolu Square. Around 4,500 police officers backed by helicopters were on duty. The march in the capital began from Atatürk Culture Center in Kazım Karabekir Street and later it culminated into an open-air meeting at Anadolu Square.
from Stockholm Center for Freedom https://stockholmcf.org/turkey-celebrates-labour-day-amid-problems-of-work-safety-lack-of-organisation/
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder