Should work accidents require serious safety measures?

After the mining accident in Soma, the elevator accident that resulted in the loss of 10 workers at an Istanbul construction site was the final straw. The protests that began right after the incident are still continuing.

The Council of Ministers announced at their last meeting – the previous day – that they had decided to take radical measures against work-related accidents. It also announced that the International Labour Organization (ILO) agreement, which standardizes work conditions in mines and at construction sites, would be ratified. The council also tried to make a stiffer stance, reporting the Government Inspection department will further investigate the incident in Istanbul.

So, will this department’s investigation or the ratification of the ILO Treaty produce any positive results in preventing frequent work accidents?

Before everything else, I must say that it is hard for the Government Inspection department to make a sincere investigation and find the employer guilty or detect faults within the public institutions. Even with such a result, it is clear that there is a lack of confidence in what process should be taken.

Because in the past, in kinds of investigations, a businessman with close political ties would never have been charged with misconduct. Even when he was charged, he would get away with it with impunity.

The ratification of the ILO Treaty, on the other hand, could be an important step towards new safety measures. I hope that the new Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu can pass the ILO Treaty without any objection from the Presidency, as a bill.

Of course, it is clear that measures should be inspected after the ratification of the treaty.

I think that work accidents are a result of the economic model. The most important sign that this understanding is wrong is the “martyrization” of the dead workers by the government. Thanks to this, the events are covered up with religious spiritualism and are shown as inevitable fate. Mr. Davutoğlu’s first speech after the accident did not raise any hope towards change.

The application of destiny, even in business relations, makes the application of modern conditions impossible in the business environment.

The reason for this is the ideology of the management.

It is evident that a model based on a system of rant and real estate economy is used. With this system, contracts given to government supporters increase and the modern working conditions are replaced with crony capitalism and favoritism.

The government evades the controlled market economy at every chance. And when it happens, the supremacy of law and respect of human rights are not applied. We see the same demands for justice as we see in the economy.

Briefly, without the hegemony of law and human rights, efficient measures won’t be taken against work accidents and related deaths.