Over 160 workers killed on the job in April

At least 163 workers lost their lives in work-related incidents in April, according to the monthly report of the Health and Safety Labor Watch (İSİG).

İSİG dedicated this month’s report to the 30 workers who were killed in a fire that erupted during renovation work at a nightclub in Beşiktaş, İstanbul, whose license was revealed to have expired. The report criticized the central and local administrations for failing to conduct the required inspections and enforce regulations.

The first four months of 2024 have seen at least 597 workers perish, averaging at least five deaths per day due to “occupational homicides” as termed by İSİG.

The distribution of April's workplace fatalities across sectors was as follows: construction and road work (51), agriculture and forestry (36), accommodation and entertainment (20), transportation (10), defense and security (8), municipal and general services (8), mining (5), food and sugar (3), trade, office, education, cinema (3), energy (3), health and social services (3), cement, soil, glass (2), metal (2), shipbuilding, shipyard, sea, port (2), and banking, finance, insurance (1). Six workers' sectors were undetermined.

The fatalities spanned across 48 cities and two foreign countries, involving short-term workers or those employed by Turkish-origin companies abroad. The age distribution of the victims included two children under 14, three young workers aged 15-17, 27 workers aged 18-29, 64 workers aged 30-49, 51 workers aged 50-64, eight workers aged 65 and above, and eight workers whose ages were unknown.

The causes of these workplace fatalities varied, with crushing and collapse (35), poisoning and drowning (32), traffic and service accidents (27), heart attacks and brain hemorrhages (16), falls from height (13), violence (13), electrocution (7), suicide (6), cuts and amputations (4), and object impacts or falls (3) being the leading reasons. (HA/VK)