At least 1,155 workers died in Turkey in first half of 2021: report

Turkey recorded at least 1,155 deaths in work-related accidents in Turkey in the first six months of this year, according to a recent report by the Workers’ Health and Work Safety Assembly (İSİG).

At least 173 workers died in Turkey last month, while 203, 142, 144, 257 and 236 more died in January, February, March, April and May of 2021, respectively, the report said, adding that the most common cause of work-related deaths in June were falling from heights, being crushed under heavy equipment and traffic accidents.

According to the report, people who died in work-related accidents in June included six minors, nine women and seven immigrants.

The majority of occupational accidents occurred in Turkey’s construction sector last month, with 26 percent of the total, followed by agriculture and transportation, at 25 percent and 11 percent, respectively, the report said.

İSİG dedicated the report to the iconic leader of Turkey’s Independent Miners’ Union, Tahir Çetin, and union member Ali Faik İnter, who died in a car crash while returning from a protest in Ankara on July 8.

People have been suffering from lax work safety standards for decades in Turkey, where workplace accidents are nearly a daily occurrence. In the worst work-related accident in the country’s history, 301 miners lost their lives in an explosion in Manisa’s Soma district in May 2014.