Protests Pursue Over Controversial Work Casualties

Dozens of activists and family members for their weekly "Conscious and Justice Watch" in the heart of Istanbul on Sunday, saying that their beloved ones died from homicide and not work accident.

Activists dedicated this week's protest to the six workers in Samsun, who died during their work shifts.

Protest spokesperson Sinem Emir who lost her brother at work in Van, said the homicides would not cease unless responsible employers were prosecuted. "The Samsun case happened because of contracted work agreements. The responsible company also laid off 21 workers because they tried to start a union in the workplace. The cases are similar: 19 casualties in Kure District, 9 others in Adana's hydroelectric plant, and so on in North Black Sea Highway."

Emir said the employers regarded workers with no value other than cheap labor, saying that they only ran after more profit. "Lately in another case, it was so hard to prove that a domestic cleaning worker actually died at work.

The group also attracted national media coverage. Ayşe Çavdar from Express Magazine interviewed the family members of Barış Kıyak, a contracted worker who died in Marmara Park Mall construction. Kıyak's sister Damla said her brother was unsatisfied with the poor working conditions and lack of safety precautions.

"If necessary precautions were taken, my brother and his 10 colleagues would be alive today," Damla Kıyak told Express. She also accused the employers to conceal facts about the homicides with fake witnesses.

The next protest will be held on January 6. (NV)