At Least 226 Workers Lost Their Lives in İstanbul in 2018

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According to a new report by the Laborers' Health and Occupational Safety (İSİG) Assembly, at least 226 workers lost their lives in occupational homicides in İstanbul.

The report says that İstanbul is the city with the most occupational homicides in Turkey, with one of every seven occupational homicides occurring there.

İSİG also underpins in the report that along with fires in workplaces and factories, abuse and exploitation against the migrants increased.

In its report, the İSİG compiled 38 percent of the data from the national and local press and 62 percent from colleagues, workers' families, job security experts, workplace doctors and unions.

4 percent of the killed workers are women

*According to the İSİG's report, four percent of the workers who were killed in the occupational homicides were women and 96 percent were men.

*A fifth of the killed workers were between the ages of 18 and 27, a fourth were 50 years old or older.

*The report said that women workers' deaths are either not known sufficiently or not seen as an occupational homicide.

Most deaths are in the construction and building sector

*Two workers out of 226 died because of occupational disease.

*Only one of the workers were unionized.

*In İstanbul, two-fifths of the deaths happened in the construction and building sector. A fifth of all deaths in the construction sector occurred in İstanbul

Most common death cause: Falling down from height

*Cause of a third of the deaths in İstanbul was falling down from height.

*Among the killed migrant workers, 8 were from Afghanistan, 4 were from Syria, 4 were from Turkmenistan, 3 were from Pakistan, 2 were from Azerbaijan, one was from Uzbekistan, one was from Russia and one was from Ukraine. 22 percent of the killed migrant workers lived in İstanbul.

*In İstanbul, most occupational homicides occurred in Tuzla district (16). 14 workers were killed in Kadıköy and Pendik, 13 killed in Ümraniye, 11 killed in Kartal.

*The districts where 12 killed workers work could not be determined.

Occupational homicides in İstanbul by year

The report also gave figures on the workers who were killed because of occupational homicides in İstanbul:

At least 96 workers in 2013,

At least 198 workers in 2014,

At least 142 workers in 2015,

At least 262 workers in 2016,

At least 230 workers in 2017,

At least 226 workers in 2018. (TP/VK)