At Least 155 Workers Lose Their Lives in October

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The Health and Safety Labor Watch (İSİG Assembly) released its monthly report on occupational homicides in Turkey today (November 4).

Accordingly, at least 155 workers lost their lives in occupational homicides in October. When the first 10 months of this year is taken together, at least 1,477 workers have died in occupational homicides.

Two children died

Preparing 83 percent of its report based on national and local press and 17 percent based on the information given by the colleagues and families of workers, occupational safety specialists, occupational physicians and unions, the İSİG Assembly has shared the following information:

* Of the 155 deceased workers, 124 workers were wage earners (workers and civil servants) while 31 workers were working on their own behalf (farmers and shop owners).

* While seven of the deceased workers were women, 148 of them were men. Two children, one of whom was under the age of 14, and eight migrants/refugees also lost their lives in occupational homicides in October.

* The occupational homicides of women took place in the sectors of agriculture, textile, bureau, trade and transportation.

Vehicle accidents the most frequent causes of death

* The sectors with the highest number of occupational homicides were agriculture, constructions, transportation, trade/bureau, municipal/general affairs, metal, mining, textile/leather, food and accomodation/entertainment.

The Report of the İSİG Assembly has indicated that the number of occupational homicides in the construction sector has been on the decrease in comparison with previous months. However, this decrease has been caused "not by the measures taken, but by the shrinkage observed in the sector due to financial crisis", the Assembly has underlined.

* The most frequent causes of death were traffic/service bus accidents, falling from a high place, being crushed/trapped under debris, violence, electric shock, being poisoned/suffocated and suicide.

Highest number of occupational homicides in İstanbul

* In October 2019, occupational homicides occured in 57 of 81 provinces in Turkey and five countries.

The highest number of occupational homicides took place in the provinces of İstanbul, Konya, Antalya, Bursa, İzmir, Sakarya, Ankara, Denizli and Antep.

None of the deceased was unionized

None of the 155 workers who lost their lives in occupational homicides in October was the member of a labor union.

The İSİG Assembly has emphasized that there might be union member workers among the deceased; however, it is not possible to give precise information "as their union memberships remain on paper and do not indicate real organization and several unions do not confirm that the deceased were their members".

The names of the deceased workers

İlhami Özdemir, Alican Kılıç, İsmail Akdeniz, Ümit Güleç, Muhammed Elali, Ertuğrul Yıldız, Erol Akçaoğlu, Ramazan Parlakdağ, Erdal Durdu, Ömer Şeker, Canpolat Kalkan, İsmet Balıkçı, Mustafa Erfidan, Mahsum Aksoy, Ayşe Şimşek, Fadıl Efruz, Faruk İbşirlio, Furkan Küçük, Hasan Hüseyin Koç, Töre Üst, U.E., Barış Bektaş, Ercan Çakır, Hayriye Altın, Yaşar Bağcı, Ahmet Bake, Yüksek Aksu, Cihan Güneş, Erol Özcan, Yılmaz Erbay, Serhat Eğel, Mükrem Uysal, Ramazan Bölek, Adil Akpınar, Zokır Vakhıdov, Yusuf Çekinmez, Soner Ardıç, Niyazi Karazeybek, Süleyman Kocaoğlu, Recep Tanrıkol, Mehmet Aydın, Ekrem Polat, Hayrettin Polat, Salih Kadim, Avni Evet, Sinan Arda Koç, Cevdet Tokbaş, Kadir (Kadri) Altundağ, Osmuxa Denis Petroviç, Vozonov Andrey Yevqeneviç, Bedrettin Yılmaz, Nizamettin Sevinç, Durdu Altın, Şuayip Akkoç, Hüseyin Çelik, İsmail Taşkın, H.G., Dursun Çelik, Ahmet Çakallı, Sinan Balk, Ali Gökyüz, Hamdi Demirkundak, Turgay Gültepe, İlhan Aksoy, Mehmet Arslan, Şehmus Doksal, Taner Akman, Harun Sarıçiçek, Ezrafil Bucak, Yunus Sancak, İbrahim Öztürk, Mustafa Dündar, Serkan Özcezarlı, Hakan Çetinkaya, Güler Gezer, Selahattin Damar, Ramazan Manay, Oktay Pala, Şakir Dönmez, İhsan Yeter, Uğur Y., Hamit Bagheri, Güngör Köleli, Ali Göçer, Orhan Avcı, Muhammed Melik Melikoğlu, Yalçın Şahiner, Arif Mercan, Ümit Şen, Cuma Damlar, Rıdvan Yüce, Mahmut Kadri Bilken, Sami Arslan, Muharrem Çimen, Engin Salık, Kaan Erol, Mustafa Yurdagülen, Emre Bayır, Hasan Avcı, Zafer Men, Ali D., Yücel Başpınar, Oğuz Kaya, Reşit Şahin, Sebahattin Karamahmut, Ömer Uçar, Habip Polatcanlı, Kerem Dolan, Osman Sezgin, Sadık Arıcı, Şahin Cinbek, Kudret Aytekin, Seyfi Öztürk, İsmail B., Ebubekir Çetin, Elvan Demir, Ümit Karayel, Reşit Özok, Mehmet Zorlu, Necip Güler, Miktad Çetinkaya, Abdullah Yaşar Barçın, Abdullah Sabah, Adile Bahçe, Hasan Koç, Cuma Aşkın, Ali Yazli, Mustafa Oskay, İmdat Türkan, Şevket Aydemir, Ahmet Özdoğan, Dede Yıldırım, Mehmet Devran, Yunus Yıldırım, Ahmet Güneş, Selahattin Bayhan, Recai Yavuz, Şirin Tosun, İlyas Biçer, Ahmet Aksoy, Mehmet Durmuş, Abdulhalim Suri, Ahmet Bolat, Orhan Sonsuz, Ömer Kara, Hüseyin Kısa, Mustafa Güner, İnsafil Ateş, Muharrem Sönmez, Mahmoud Almourad, Kazım Çetiner, Emine Keskin and unidentified three workers.

(TP/SD)