'There's No Work Safety, It is Only on Paper'

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"You know, it is said that this is in the nature of the construction business. There's no training in our business, whatever we learned ourselves... There's no security or anything like that, it's all on paper. We work in primitive conditions. The big firms and the small ones are the same; there's nothing change, there's no improvement."

Construction worker Kıyas Kalın made this comment about the occupational homicide that took place yesterday (September 5) in Seferihisar, İzmir.

27-year-old Kenan Karakuş and 19-year-old F.A. died yesterday after falling from a height of about three meters into a stairwell.

It was both workers' first day at work. Kenan Karakuş was married and had two children.

One of the workers died at the scene and the other worker died at Dokuz Eylül University Hospital, Kalın told bianet.

"While plastering the roof towers, they put planks and worked on the rooftop as the iron carcase of the roof were installed. The planks slipped, they fell over their heads at the inside of the construction. They both died of a brain hemorrhage.

"They had just come, and they started working on that day. We didn't even know their names properly. They were not new to the construction business, they were masters but this was their first day in this construction. We are very sorry."

Subcontractor owner in custody

An investigation has been launched into the incident.

M.O, the owner of the subcontractor firm Medeni İnşaat, is in detention, Kalın said, adding they received information that the workers who lost their lives were insured.

Pointing out that the conditions of construction workers are "the same everywhere", Kalın said, "No one hears our voice."

"We intend to found an association. I'm trying to take the lead on this, and we want to start an association under a name like the association for the solidarity of construction workers.

He said that he fell from a height of 8 meters about 3 months ago in the construction where he worked, that he was still walking on crutches, that his back was broken and that he was under treatment.

"Why do you work in these conditions, they say. We've been forced to work, we have to. We're fighting the Grim Reaper to bring home bread."

At least 163 workers died in occupational homicides in July, according to a recent report by the İSİG Assembly. In the first seven months of 2019, at least 1004 workers in Turkey lost their lives in occupational homicides. (AS/VK)