Deniz Yücel, a member of the Justice Commission of the Turkish Grand National Assembly and a deputy for the Republican People’s Party (CHP) in Izmir, compared data from the Workers’ Health and Occupational Safety Assembly (İSİG) for the years 2002 and 2022. He stated that work accidents have increased 13 times during the period of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and that workers are struggling to survive. Yücel emphasized that during the AKP government, 31,276 workers lost their lives in work accidents, which is almost the same number as the population of San Marino. He criticized the AKP for not taking action to prevent these accidents and stated that all work accidents are predictable and preventable in the 21st century.
Yücel stated that the number of work accidents has increased approximately 13 times in 20 years, from 146 in 2002 to 1,843 in 2022. He also mentioned that in the first five months of 2023, at least 730 workers lost their lives in work accidents in Turkey, and 16 workers lost their lives in work accidents in Izmir during the same period. Yücel highlighted the serious deficiencies in occupational health and safety in Turkey based on these statistics. He criticized the AKP government for creating a working environment where workers are forced to choose between hunger or work accidents.
Yücel mentioned that he submitted a parliamentary question to the Minister of Labor and Social Security, Vedat Işıkhan, but did not receive a satisfactory answer. He criticized the government for ignoring the deaths of 31,276 workers and the 13-fold increase in work accident-related deaths during their rule. Yücel emphasized the responsibility that the government will have to face and stated that justice will be served sooner or later.
Referring to data from Eurostat, Yücel compared the occupational accident death rates of European countries and Turkey. He stated that Turkey has the highest death rate per 100,000 people employed, ranking first in Europe and third in the world in work accidents.
In the parliamentary question submitted by Yücel, he asked whether the Ministry of Labor and Social Security has initiated any investigations regarding the 730 workers who lost their lives in the first five months of 2023. He also inquired about the reasons for the 13-fold increase in work accident-related deaths in Turkey over the past 20 years and the effectiveness of the Ministry’s occupational health and safety policies. Yücel asked about the number of inspections carried out by the Ministry’s inspectors in terms of occupational health and safety measures throughout Turkey and in Izmir specifically, as well as the number of administrative fines imposed. Additionally, he asked about the number of labor inspectors working under the Ministry, the number of inspections they conduct per year, and the proportion of proactive (preventive) inspections.
ESG Risks deduced from the article:
– Occupational health and safety deficiencies
– Increased work accidents
– High death rate in work accidents
– Weakness in occupational health and safety policies
Groups of affected or vulnerable people:
– Workers in various sectors
Companies mentioned and their roles in regards to the ESG Risk:
– No specific companies mentioned in the article.
Affected or relevant sectors:
– All sectors that employ workers
Keywords:
– AKP, work accidents, workers, occupational health and safety, deficiencies, deaths, Turkey, ESG risks, vulnerable people, parliamentary question, inspections, administrative fines, labor inspectors.