Occupational accidents are on the rise, experts warn
Despite all efforts, occupational accidents cannot be prevented in Turkey, the third country in the world and the first in Europe in terms of worker deaths. According to the report of the Occupational Health and Safety Council (ISIG), at least 1843 people died in work accidents in Turkey in 2022 and 463 people died in the first 3 months of this year. According to the same report, the number of people who died from work accidents in the first three months of 2023 was 463. While the number of people who died at work in 2016 was 1970, the number of work accident deaths was reduced to 1147 in 2019 with the measures taken for 3 years, strict inspections and controls. The number of deaths in work accidents, which started to increase from 2020, reached 1231 people in 2020 and 1382 people in 2021. Although work accidents are preventable, the number of deaths is increasing every year and occupational health and safety experts took action due to the heavy balance. The experts, who stated that the rules related to occupational health and safety must take place as much as an effective culture in human life as the traffic rules, stated that the simple measures taken can save the lives of the workers. Occupational health and safety experts explained that they started with the slogan of zero workplace accidents and emphasized that they have made great efforts to reduce workplace accidents and that employees, managers and employers should also support them.
Call to employers
Class A OHS Exp. Mehmet Zafer Arısoy issued an appeal to employers and said: “As long as it is stated that occupational accidents are preventable, both employees and employers will comply. Because he does not want to bear both the moral and the material burden of this. That is why we see an attitude among employers to comply with labor laws. Arguing that occupational accidents can be reduced by registering occupational accidents and using collective protective equipment and personal protective equipment, Occupational Health and Safety Specialist Class A. Mehmet Zafer Arısoy said, “Although it seems that the number of occupational accidents has increased, the reason for this is the increase in the number of workplaces receiving service and the registration of the accidents. It was not recorded before. This increase will disappear with the registration. personal protective equipment has increased, the employer can easily access them. As an expert in occupational safety, we also use the Labor Law and Regulations No. 633.1.”
“Experts are in the field and active”
Arısoy recalled that occupational safety experts take an active role in the field at all times with the slogan of zero accidents and said, “This is a cultural issue, I hope that occupational accidents will decrease, but we are 3rd in the world in terms of fatal occupational accidents numerically and 1st in Europe and we still maintain this. It is our motto to fulfill the motto of zero occupational accidents. We are doing our best. “
call to workers
Arısoy stated that if the workers pay due attention to all the precautions taken in the working environment, they will not be harmed in any way.
The most common occupational accidents
Occupational health and safety specialist Müslüm Miraç Haykır noted that the most common workplace accidents are falls from a height and electric shock, and stated that these accidents can be prevented with equipment and materials such as vertical lifelines, horizontal lifelines and fall arresters. IGS specialist Haykır said, “99 percent of work accidents can be prevented. In our country, employers in our country will approach occupational safety with a little more common sense and use and follow the right equipment to prevent work accidents.”
Rules for safety at work must become a culture
With the argument that the rules should not only be included in the workplace, but in every part of life and that education should take place in secondary and primary schools as well as universities, Arbo trainer Asbest Dismantling Uzm argued. Çetin Özdemir said: “Although it is seen as a business, we can say that it is a very important culture that should be incorporated into our lives when entering occupational health and safety services. In fact, occupational health and safety is a culture that should take place in our lives just like traffic rules. This culture should be reflected in all walks of life. Arbo is currently taught as a subject at universities, which is a very good approach. This should be reduced from secondary education to primary education, and every citizen should be sensitive to this issue.
“We should get an ID card that we are authorized”
Özdemir stated that the experts struggle to express themselves in any setting where they work or in social activities because they do not have cards. First of all, we must have an identity card. To express ourselves everywhere, we need an identity card to apply for a visa for certain periods. I cannot express myself in any social facility outside or I have to express myself verbally when I go to a place of work, so an ID card must be given that we are authorized.”
