The trade union for shipyard workers, LIMTER-IS, has announced that two more workers have died at the shipyards in Tuzla on the outskirts of Istanbul.

Burnt and poisoned 

According to the trade union, 24-year old Hasan Köse, who was working at the Selahattin Aslan shipyard, died after receiving burns to 80 per cent of his body in an oxygen cylinder on 17 February. He was buried a day later.

A second worker, Osman Göc, who was working as a welder at the GEMTIS shipyard, died after being poisoned by the smoke created during welding. He fell ill in the evening and went to hospital, but was sent home. When he got worse, he was taken back to hospital, but died of heart failure as a result of smoke poisoning.

Köse and Göc are the fifth and sixth workers to have died at the Tuzla shipyards since the beginning of the year, and most mainstream newspapers have begun reporting on the appalling working and living conditions of the workers.

Minister of Employment promises change, but "not in two days"... 

Faruk Celik, Minister of Employment and Social Security recently visited the shipyards and met with representatives from trade unions and employers. He spoke at the general assembly of the Confederation of Revolutionary Workers’ Trade Unions (DISK), saying:

“The situation in Tuzla pains your and our hearts. It cannot be expressed otherwise. This needs to be solved hand in hand. If the fault lies with employers or the government, then only a low-life would disregard the criticism. […] Those responsible should emerge. But you should also know that our days and nights are spent at Tuzla, that our mind is always there. I have been and seen the situation and I advise those who have not to do so.”

“We have convened with other ministers and there are projects to improve [the shipyards]. But this will not happen in one day. I know I am asking a lot of you, but there is administration, there is a management style, there is a structure; you cannot easily get rid of it in two days.”

Trade union calls for urgent action 

In a statement on 18 February, LIMTER-IS made the following demands for urgent action:

• The subcontracting system should be abolished.
• The regulations for heavy and dangerous labour should be applied.
• The main company should insure the workers based on their real income.
• The shipyards should be open to the press and public.
• The Commission for Monitoring the Tuzla Shipyard Region, made up of professionals, lawyers and academics and trade union members should be expanded to include contributions of the Ministry of Employment and the Turkish Shipbuilders’ Association (GISBIR), and should be allowed to examine and inspect the shipyards.
• Workers living in cramped shared quarters with high rents should be offered healthy, hygienic rooms free of charge. (TK/AG)