Capitalism Kills: 353 occupational murders within 2 months in Turkey

How many dead workers are needed to increase the profitability of the monopolies? 

As soL international reports, according to Council of Workers’ Health and Safety (İSİG), at least 353 workers were killed in occupational murders in two months in Turkey. 

Reminding that the construction site of the third airport in İstanbul is notorious for occupational murders, the İSİG underlines, about the campaign which was announced inside the construction site of the airport, that the numbers reported by the Turkey’s Ministry of Labor and Social Security and several bureaucrats are dead wrong, and that roughly 20 thousand workers were killed by occupational murders in AKP’s rule.

The İSİG also explains that, even though the Ministry claims the rate of occupational murders to have decreased by 40% after 2002 when the still-ruling party AKP was elected, the numbers given by the Council show otherwise. 

The report suggests that the reason for the increase in the number of occupational murders is the recklessness of the company-owners, which they receive from the facts that the state does not conduct inspections, that it even postpones the laws it passes, and that the company-owners generate an unquestionable working environment, let alone taking precautions.

The report also indicates that 40 Turkish construction companies made it to the “250 Greatest International Contractors of the World” list of the international journal of construction sector, Engineering News Report. The İSİG states that the government keeps its promise to employers, creating an environment for them to increase their capital incrementally, such as passing laws that allow subcontracting, cheap labour, and banning strikes, etc.

The report also prompts that in the centre of the campaign was the construction sector, in which 78 workers were killed by occupational murders in the last 2 months.

FURTHERMORE:

* According to the official statistics by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the U.S. Department of Labour, in the United States approximately 4,836 workers were killed on the job in 2015 (3.4 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers) — on average, more than 93 a week or more than 13 deaths every day.

* At least 1,023 workers were killed and about 2,500 were injured when the eight-storey Rana Plaza factory building near Dhaka, in Bangladesh, collapsed on 24 April 2013, marking one of the worst industrial "accidents" in modern history. 

* The Soma mine disaster on 13 May 2014 in Turkey, left 301 dead workers, while on May 2010, in Zongudlak province, another "mine accident" led to 30 occupational deaths. 

* At least 13 workers were killed in construction works of the venues prior to the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.