The statement begins by underlining that those who are most affected by the coronavirus are working class people who must travel to workplaces despite the high risk of contamination by the virus.
“Covid-19 has been turned into a working class disease step by step,” declared ISIG’s statement, before criticising the Turkish government for not protecting the health of workers.
“The places with the highest contamination are factories, construction sites, shipyards, warehouses, markets, hospitals and schools where the state did not take necessary restrictions regarding the coronavirus,” added ISIG.
According ISIG’s data, at least 861 workers died due to Covid-19 between 11 March 2020 and 10 March 2021. Therefore “Covid-19 should be defined as an ‘occupational disease’,” argued ISIG, demanding that workplaces where the number of cases is above a certain rate should be closed.
To protect the health and security of workers, ISIG also asked for the prohibition of dismissal (which was put forward at the beginning of the pandemic) to be extended and called for a ban on employers dismissing workers unlawfully.
Finally, ISIG demanded a cessation of production in workplaces outside of the mandatory sectors, and for those workers to be put on administrative leave.
