Shipyard worker perishes in accident

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

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Selim Sevgili, who was called to the shipyard while he was scheduled to be off, was wedged between tons of weighted caps on a ship’s storehouse and died on his way to the hospital. Dentaş Shipyard, where Sevgili worked, was shut down for five days in June due to lack of safety measures.

Most of the work in Tuzla is outsourced to smaller companies, which have been accused of employing untrained workers and adopting poor safety practices. The subcontracting system and noncompliance with occupational safety regulations in shipyard operations are seen as the major causes of deaths in Tuzla.

Meanwhile, Transportation Minister Binali Yıldırım said upon reporters’ questions about the accident, that accidents happen from time to time in heavy industries. Due to precautions taken by both the Ministry of Labor and Social Security and the shipyards themselves, the accident rates are considerably lower, Yıldırım said.

Individual mistakes

"No matter how many precautions you take, individual mistakes make preventing the accidents impossible," Yıldırım said. When asked if the shipyard was operating on a Sunday without permission, he said; "There is no such thing as ’no permission to work on Sundays.’ If they don’t have permission to work Sundays, that is another issue, but we have to work regardless of it being Sunday." Yıldırım said the important factor is respecting work shifts and security measures, not what time you were working.

"Why are you working? Today is Sunday. Why are we working?" asked Yıldırım of the press.