Mourning business world calls for urgent steps for better work safety

ISTANBUL/ANKARA

This picture shows the dressing room of miners. DHa Photo

The Turkish business world conveyed condolences for the miners killed in the Soma mining tragedy, drawing particular attention to the urgent need for necessary measures to be taken to prevent future disasters.

The Turkish Industry and Businessmen’s Association (TÜSİAD) issued a message yesterday, expressing its wish for the late workers to rest in peace and also offering condolences to their families.

TÜSİAD also used its message to condemn the high number of occupational accidents in the country, refusing to interpret the incident as a “natural cause.”

“Death is not the fate of the miner, nor is this disaster that ended in death in this job’s nature,” it stated.

“The point that Turkey has reached in deadly work accidents is unacceptable,” it added, calling on the authorities to urgently take the necessary measures to prevent further losses.

Rıfat Hisarcıklıoğlu, the chairman of the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB), also released a statement to express his sorrow over the incident.

“This disaster burnt everybody’s hearts. Losses of life and injuries that have reached high numbers caused a deep grief for our country,” Hisarcıklıoğlu said, adding that there was “nothing left to say at this point.”

Turkish Enterprise and Business Confederation (TÜRKONFED) Chairman Süleyman Onatça also offered condolences for the “saddening situation,” saying that such an accident did not suit an EU membership candidate country.

Onatça said the issue of work safety could “not only be ensured by holding the business world representatives responsible,” adding that it was “clear that all parties need a new method to deal with the issue.”