At least 232 workers lose their lives in May

* Photo: DİSK

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The Health and Safety Labor Watch (İSİG) has released its monthly report on occupational homicides in May 2021. The report has shown that at least 232 workers died in occupational homicides last month.

The number of workers who lost their lives in the first five months of 2021 was 972. While at least 203 workers died in January, at least 141 workers died in February, at least 144 workers died in March, at least 252 workers died in April and at least 232 workers died in May 2021.

20 women lost their lives

According to the İSİG report, 193 of the 232 deceased were wage earners (workers and civil servants), 39 were working on their own behalf (farmers and shopkeepers). While 20 of the deceased were women, 212 workers were men. The occupational homicides of women took place in agriculture, education, bureau, metal, healthcare and municipal/ general affairs.

Three migrant/ refugee workers lost their lives in May; while two of the deceased were from Afghanistan, one was from Turkmenistan.

Three workers were children, 84 older than 51

The İSİG report has shown that while three of the 232 deceased workers were children (at the ages of seven, 15 and 17), 84 workers were at or over the age of 51; these latter occupational homicides took place in agriculture, mining, chemistry, press, cinema, education, trade, bureau, metal, construction, railway, ship, accommodation and municipal affairs.

When considered by age groups, one deceased worker was at or under the age of 14, while two workers were in the 15-17 age group, 17 workers were in the 18-27 age group, 211 workers were in the 28-50 age group and 71 workers were in the 51-64 age group.

According to the İSİG report, 13 deceased workers were at or over the age of 65, while the ages of six workers were unknown.

Deaths by sectors, causes and provinces

The report has also shown that the highest number of occupational homicides happened in the sectors of trade/bureau/education, agriculture/forestry, construction/road, municipal/general affairs, healthcare, transportation, accomodation, energy, chemistry, press and metal.

While 29 (12.5 percent) of the deceased workers were the members of a union, the remaining workers were not.

When the causes of deaths are considered, the most frequent causes of death were the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), traffic/shuttle bus accidents, being crushed/trapped under debris, falling from a higher place, suicide, heart attack, electric shock and drowning.

52 percent of the deaths were caused by COVID-19; they were mostly encountered in the following sectors: Trade/bureau/education, healthcare, municipality, security and press. 43 education personnel, 15 healthcare workers and 14 municipal employees died of COVID-19.

According to the report, at least 13 workers took their own lives due to "debts and unemployment" in May 2021.

The highest number of occupational homicides happened in İstanbul with 36 deaths, in İzmir with 14 deaths and in Muğla with 10 deaths.

The names of 232 workers who died in May 2021

Cemal Akyürek, Fadime . Mehmet Özamaç, Ömer Duran, Mesut Kılıç, Keziban Kılıç, Erdoğan Gönen, İbrahim Kahraman, Dursun Aynacı, Nejla Taş, Ömer Kürklü, Hüseyin Ceylan, Hasan Dinç, Muhammet Bayar, Arif Sağın, Hüseyin Yıldırım, Seycan Yalvaç, Fahrettin Öztürk, Remzi Yıldız, Mahmut Ergun, K.R., Fehmi Koç, Osman Sabuncuoğlu, Hidayet Akkuzu, Murat Yıldız, Fevzi Özek, Mert Çamlıbelen, Yazgülü Zengin, Fahrettin Aktaş, Haşim Açık, Ahmet Erişmiş, İmdat Derelioğlu, Hasan Saçaklı, Emre Su, Salih Demir, Yusuf Keskin, Basri Tüfekçi, Metin Esen, Fuat Güle, Sezai Ünlü, Mehmet Kahraman, Taner Kara, Barış Yazıcı, Alişan Aytaş, Şener Türker, Duygu Cüneyt Uçurum, Hüseyin Özdoğan, Enver Vurgun, Emre Gülaçtı, Adnan Genç, Semir Yazıcı, Levent Çezik, Burhan Kazmalı, Teoman Alili, Nihat Besler, Selami Kurucu, Ümit Berber, Ebru Unurlu, Ebubekir Sami Çınar, Kadri Bektaş, Volkan Demirtaş, Mehmet Yavuzatmaca, Güzel Sucu, İsa Eren, Gürhan Satman, Behçet Marangoz, Hasan Türk, Mine Karagöl, Recep Yüksel, Serkan Hebipoğlu, İsa Değerli, Uğur Sakaloğlu, Beşir Karahasanoğlu, Mehmet Fatih Gündüz, Ali Rıza Tufan, Serkan Batı, Yücel Akkaş, Uğur Uzun, Osman Gündüz, Aydın Damar, Sabahattin Arsu, Özcan Erci, Dilber Altınar Kılıçaslan, Durdağı Akan, Fatih Akkuş, Atakan Çetinkaya, İlker Fuat Göze, Şaban Kıymız, Şafak Güney, Muhsin Çınargür, Aykut Şimşek, Hasan Koşar, Talip Torun, Sebahi Saylık, Hacı Turan Çakallı, Haydar Orhan, Ergün Şimşek, Rahmi Kılıç, Halim Ergen, Berk Adıyaman, Ahmet Eren, Nadi Aksoy, Tamer Koç, Latif Güler, Yusuf Özbakır, İlknur Kösen, İbrahim Demir, Mahmut Korkmaz, Süleyman Yıldız, Ebru Us Aykaş, Turan Avcı Kurt, Naki Çalışkan, Mahmut Göksu, Fatih Yılmaz, Zuhal Işık, Ecevit Eyduran, Esra Karaman, Hatice Selcen Yıldız, Aydın Işık, Zafer Kaya, Murat Gümüş, Erdal Şenözpak, Teoman Cengiz, Refik Hotaman, Süleyman Devecioğlu, Ömer Faruk İncer, Nazım Köktürk, Mehmet Erdem, Osman Yıldız, Alpay Pala, Recep Yılmaz, İlknur Tepeç Kaya, Kürşat Dal, Abdullah Ertem, Muhammet Karancı, Engin Bal, İbrahim Arslan, Murat Dolma, İbrahim Yılmaz, Güngör Özmen, Cuma Taş, Vahit Bulanık, İsa Aydın, Abdürrahim Gülmez, Himmet Baz, Ayhan Kalçık, Ali Sezgin, Fawad Anwary, Ramazan Pars, Yunus Karadoğan, Mehmet Kürkünç, Ahmet Özeren, Ayhan Attar, Mehmet Kekil, Barış Kapucu, Şükrü Kuşçu, Adem Hamza, Önder Özcan, Samet Bulun, Tayfun Öncül, Seyit Ali Çağlayan, Soner Önal, İ.K., Hasan Ölmez, Hikmet Maraş, Adem Aykaç, Ahmet Teke, Cihan Duman, Sabri Kavuk, İsa İşlek, Ersin Ateş, Ömer Çolak, Numan Şiner, Mürsel Saka, Furkan Yazıcı, Nazım Şevkan, Ömer Çeliktaş, Yudum Mert, İlhan Öztürk, Hasan Beşışık, Osman Arıkan, Medine Gündüz, Halil ibrahim Çakın, Mehmet Tatlıgil, Süreyya Salihustaoğlu, İbrahim Cömert, Merve Cesur, Levent Kamış, Sabahattin Gül, Ceyda Nazlı, Cemile Öztın Öğün, Tayfun Yıldız, Murat Çiftçi, Emrah Bakır, Abdullah Barış Çay, Selim Kınsız, Bayram Kurt, Ekrem Durmaz, Emrah Çınar, Necati D., Kenan Efir, Gürbüz Tanış, Kansu Turan, Bülent Kurt, Üstün Alkan, Saim Özay, Ahmet Avağ, Bakır Artuğ, Sami İnce, Ramazan Öner, Tuncay Arslan, Hakan Uzunel, Kenan Temur, Zafer Bülbül, Hasan Direk, Fikri Aslan, Cemal Sunar, İrfan Duygu, Kemal Şengül, Aydın Ural, Bedrettin Böğürcü, Mehmet Kumlu, Deniz Arkun, Alaattin Biçim, Mustafa Kiremitçi, Gurbangozel Chariyeva, Ramazan Coşkun, İbrahim Macun, Yahya Güler, Cihan Karçı, Şeyhmus Tufan and one unidentified worker.

(DŞ/SD)