450 subcontracted workers fired from site of deadly Siirt copper mine disaster

SİİRT

REUTERS photo

A total of 450 subcontracted workers at a copper mine in the Şirvan district of the southeastern province of Siirt, which was the site of a deadly landslide in November 2016, have been fired after operations in the area were halted due to the deadly incident.

The mine, which was the scene of a huge landslide that claimed 16 construction workers’ lives, canceled the agreement of the workers who had continued to work in the area after the incident. 

“After the incident they called all of us in. We came and helped take our worker friends stuck under the wreckage. We were there until the last worker was taken out. But later they called us again and told that our job was canceled and that we should sign the cancelation agreement prepared by them,” said a truck driver in the area, Sezgin Deniz. 

The workers said they had not been paid for two months and were finally paid a couple of days ago. 

The head of union of the workers living in the mine village, Cevher Anık, confirmed the firing of the workers and added that no statement had been given concerning the action by the company but they as the union would take necessary legal steps. 

After days of heavy work, the bodies of the 16 workers were recovered.

The owner of the mine, Park Elektrik A.Ş., subsequently said in a statement that the landslide occurred due to heavy rain in the area. 

Park Elektrik A.Ş. is a member of the Ciner Group, one of the largest business groups in Turkey, with investments in mining, energy, tourism and media.

Siirt Gov. Mustafa Tutulmaz also said the primary reason for the disaster was “heavy rain,” while adding that prosecutors had also launched investigations to determine whether the slide was the result of any negligence.