According to Health and Safety Labour Watch’s (ISIG’s) report, at least 232 workers lost their lives in May this year, whilst at least 972 workers lost their lives since the beginning of this year, Mesopotamia News Agency reports.
In the report, it was stated that the “full lockdown” decision that was taken by the government in May did not change anything for the millions of workers who had to work. The report reveals that a ‘Work Exemption Permit Certificate’ was issued to 3,021,778 people through e-Government during the lock-down period. The report also drew attention to women’s conditions in both the workplace and homes.
“There are 67 million domestic workers in the world, 75% of whom are informal workers. In Turkey, this number is approximately 1.3 million people. Three out of 10 domestic workers are subjected to sexual, physical violence, or mob violence. The struggle for organisation and unionisation needs to be widespread”.
Three child workers died in May
According to the report, 193 of the 232 workers who lost their lives in May were either employees or civil servants and 39 were self-employed (farmers and tradesmen) and 20 of them were women. “Three migrant/refugee workers lost their lives: two from Afghanistan and one from Turkmenistan. Three child workers died. There are 84 workers aged 51 and over who died while working,” the ISIG report concluded.
In the report, it was stated that most of the workplace deaths occurred in sectors such as commerce, office, education, agriculture, forestry, construction, and roads, and 29 of those who lost their lives in work murders were members of a syndicate. “The most common causes of death were Covid-19, traffic/service accidents, people being crushed, falling from heights, suicides, heart attacks, electric shocks, and drowning.”
