Are Fatal Workplace Accidents Turkey’s Key Barrier to Sustainable Development Goals?
Zeynep Thomas // 20.06.2024
The United Nations aims to achieve sustainable environmental, economic, and social development by 2030 through 17 interconnected Sustainable Development Goals, targeting key global issues that also affect Turkey and other countries. SDG 8 focuses on decent work and economic growth, including sub-goals for developing safe working environments for all employees.
According to the December 2023 report of the Health and Safety Labour Watch-Turkey, statistics show that at least 1929 workers lost their lives in 2023, while at least 425 workers lost their lives in the first three months of 2024. Two vastly different incidents reported in the media show that the risk level was well beyond acceptable, yet preventive actions were not taken.
On February 13, 2024, a mining disaster in İliç district, Erzincan, resulted in 9 workers losing their lives trapped under 10 million cubic meters of cyanide-laden soil. Rescue efforts lasting seven days revealed that 400,000 trucks would be needed to remove the soil. The risk of landslides from the 10 million cubic meters of cyanide-laden soil, combined with unsafe working conditions and potential environmental catastrophe, deeply concerns residents in the area.
On April 2, 2024, a nightclub explosion in Istanbul, Beşiktaş, claimed 29 lives due to a lack of emergency exits. The explosion originated from a spark from a welding machine used during renovations, igniting the highly flammable soundproofing material on the club’s walls. The single exit corridor, completely covered with soundproofing material, made it impossible to escape. The fire spread rapidly throughout the venue and to the -1st floor of a 16-story building, necessitating evacuations. The scale of danger extends beyond the workplace, threatening the surrounding area.
Both incidents, occurring two months apart in vastly different conditions and industries, could have been prevented by maintaining risk at a manageable level, implementing necessary improvements, and ensuring continuity of actions through internal and external audits.
Implementing sustainability measures and reports to reduce environmental and human impact from business operations, ensuring sufficient health and safety standards as set by competent bodies like the Ministry of Labor and Social Security and the World Health Organization, promoting open communication for employee feedback as a cultural norm, and integrating shared values into supplier and stakeholder selection processes can help create safe work environments for all employees.
References
Ölümlü kaza raporlarından çıkan rakamlar için: İSİG Meclisi ( Health and Safety Labour watch/ Türkiye)
Erzincan’daki olayda 9 kişinin toptak altında kaldığı ÇSGB sayfasında basın açıklamasında var. ÇSGB (Ministry of Labour and Social Security)
Beşiktaş’daki yangında 29 kişinin öldüğü İstanbul Valiliği sayfasında paylaşıldı. T.C. istanbul Valiliği (Governorship of İstanbul)
