CAPITALISM AND WORK-RELATED CRIMES
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01 December / International Bulletin / No. 146

The labour law no.4587 launched in 2003 as well as the Health and Safety Law no. 6331 launched in 2012 have changed work health and safety totally so that nearly 50 regulations and notifications were brought out. Concerning work health and safety which are among the most important topics of work life, there haven’t been taken enough precautions in the AKP ’s “new Turkey”. However, the AKP boasting with Turkey growing forgets that politics related to workers’ health and work safety are directly linked with the economic, social and cultural level of progress.

Turkey is among the first countries worldwide in terms of work-related accidents. On the other hand, through privatisation, the ban on unionising and subcontracting, meaning politics on hindering organising don’t only mean illegally working of people and children without any safety and security, but that work accidents are more and more becoming work-related murders.

During the AKP being the governing party there has been a huge increase in work-related accidents ending up with the death of the workers. Such a high increase hasn’t been noticed at any other time in this country. The misuse of labour power, the alleged precautions taken against work-related accidents as well as the respective laws introduced only serve exploitation to grow. The death of workers is the result of that. Since 2002, since this party has been governing, the rise of numbers of workers’ deaths has proved that. Here are the facts: 146 workers died in the last two months of 2002, 811 workers in 2003, 843 workers in 2004, 1096 workers in 2005, 1601 workers in 2006, 1044 workers in 2007, 866 workers in 2008, 1171 workers in 2009, 1454 workers in 2010, 1710 workers in 2011, 878 workers in 2012, 1235 workers in 2013, 1600 workers in the first ten months of 2014; altogether 14.455 workers died in “work-related accidents” during the 12-year-rulership of the AKP.

As a result of the increasing number and the death of more than 300 miners in Soma and lately of 18 miners in Ermenek the government was forced to prepare a “Work Safety Action Package”. However, the “safety package” announced is nothing else than a non-safety package defending the bosses’ interests. This is proved by the articles it contains. There are also articles that show that the problems are not taken seriously. For example, it says: “We will take precautions in order to prevent forced production in royalties and leasing works.”; “Employers who don’t equip workers according to the standards will be fined”. Royalties or leasing are a way to rise maximum profit, make total use of labour power and this means force the worker to product. In the package it doesn’t say that this system will be abolished, but that this system will continue and the work-related murders will continue, too. “Employers who don’t equip workers according to the standards will be fined” – employees are very happy with this regulation as they just pay the “fine” and could continue to force the workers to produce without any safety regulations and in order to rise the production. Does the government not know that this is going to happen?

Even id practiced, the death of workers can’t be prevented through this. The government
takes precautions and thinks of the interests of capital and the bosses at the same time. Whilst doing that, unions and workers are not being asked, e.g. experienced miners are not being asked concerning questions in this sector. Subcontraction (generally leasing, hiring someone at another company) as well as the system of ownership (the system of leasing especially in the field of mining) which are a method to directly increase profit are not being questioned. These systems directly serve deepening exploitation and as a result, work safety is being ignored. The company hiring – private sector – tends to totally use labour power in order to make the money out of what hiring costed as well as to get the maximum profit labour power is tended to being totally used. Necessary expenses related to working conditions and first of all to safety are intended to be limited or kept at a quite low level. The result of this is inevitably the rise of work-related accidents and deaths.

The precautions taken by the government as well as the contents of the package have no other aim than defending itself and ensuring the total use of labour power. We shouldn’t be surprised if tomorrow it says: „We have taken precautions, but our workers’ culture of working and sticking to the rules is lacking, this is why accidents at work happen”.

In Turkey only 5% of the workers are making use of collective bargaining. It is tried to prevent workers from organising within a union and sometimes it is even impossible.  Unions are not taken seriously including work safety problems, no controls are made and workers are employed without any insurance and safety rules. By that, illegal employment is encouraged. Workers are threatened with unemployment and hunger to work under these conditions. In such a country, there will never be an end of work–related accidents and because of all these reasons, when it is obvious that workers are sent to death the accidents can be defined as “work-related murder”.  

Work-related murders are one basic characteristic of the AKP’s “new Turkey”. Ermenek, Isparta, Torunlar, Soma, Tuzla, Davutpaşa, Ostim, Kozlu... the result: 14.455 workers died.
In the AKP’s new Turkey, workers will be forced to live 80 work-related accidents every hour and 706.000 work-related accidents every year. 

In an AKP-governed Turkey that defines work-related murders as “the nature of the work”, there will always be work-related murders. This isn’t fate though. Apart from improving the working conditions, the working class could make an end to these murders by abolishing this exploiting system. In socialism, work-related accidents could happen but not work-related murders. 

 

 

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CAPITALISM AND WORK-RELATED CRIMES
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01 December / International Bulletin / No. 146

The labour law no.4587 launched in 2003 as well as the Health and Safety Law no. 6331 launched in 2012 have changed work health and safety totally so that nearly 50 regulations and notifications were brought out. Concerning work health and safety which are among the most important topics of work life, there haven’t been taken enough precautions in the AKP ’s “new Turkey”. However, the AKP boasting with Turkey growing forgets that politics related to workers’ health and work safety are directly linked with the economic, social and cultural level of progress.

Turkey is among the first countries worldwide in terms of work-related accidents. On the other hand, through privatisation, the ban on unionising and subcontracting, meaning politics on hindering organising don’t only mean illegally working of people and children without any safety and security, but that work accidents are more and more becoming work-related murders.

During the AKP being the governing party there has been a huge increase in work-related accidents ending up with the death of the workers. Such a high increase hasn’t been noticed at any other time in this country. The misuse of labour power, the alleged precautions taken against work-related accidents as well as the respective laws introduced only serve exploitation to grow. The death of workers is the result of that. Since 2002, since this party has been governing, the rise of numbers of workers’ deaths has proved that. Here are the facts: 146 workers died in the last two months of 2002, 811 workers in 2003, 843 workers in 2004, 1096 workers in 2005, 1601 workers in 2006, 1044 workers in 2007, 866 workers in 2008, 1171 workers in 2009, 1454 workers in 2010, 1710 workers in 2011, 878 workers in 2012, 1235 workers in 2013, 1600 workers in the first ten months of 2014; altogether 14.455 workers died in “work-related accidents” during the 12-year-rulership of the AKP.

As a result of the increasing number and the death of more than 300 miners in Soma and lately of 18 miners in Ermenek the government was forced to prepare a “Work Safety Action Package”. However, the “safety package” announced is nothing else than a non-safety package defending the bosses’ interests. This is proved by the articles it contains. There are also articles that show that the problems are not taken seriously. For example, it says: “We will take precautions in order to prevent forced production in royalties and leasing works.”; “Employers who don’t equip workers according to the standards will be fined”. Royalties or leasing are a way to rise maximum profit, make total use of labour power and this means force the worker to product. In the package it doesn’t say that this system will be abolished, but that this system will continue and the work-related murders will continue, too. “Employers who don’t equip workers according to the standards will be fined” – employees are very happy with this regulation as they just pay the “fine” and could continue to force the workers to produce without any safety regulations and in order to rise the production. Does the government not know that this is going to happen?

Even id practiced, the death of workers can’t be prevented through this. The government
takes precautions and thinks of the interests of capital and the bosses at the same time. Whilst doing that, unions and workers are not being asked, e.g. experienced miners are not being asked concerning questions in this sector. Subcontraction (generally leasing, hiring someone at another company) as well as the system of ownership (the system of leasing especially in the field of mining) which are a method to directly increase profit are not being questioned. These systems directly serve deepening exploitation and as a result, work safety is being ignored. The company hiring – private sector – tends to totally use labour power in order to make the money out of what hiring costed as well as to get the maximum profit labour power is tended to being totally used. Necessary expenses related to working conditions and first of all to safety are intended to be limited or kept at a quite low level. The result of this is inevitably the rise of work-related accidents and deaths.

The precautions taken by the government as well as the contents of the package have no other aim than defending itself and ensuring the total use of labour power. We shouldn’t be surprised if tomorrow it says: „We have taken precautions, but our workers’ culture of working and sticking to the rules is lacking, this is why accidents at work happen”.

In Turkey only 5% of the workers are making use of collective bargaining. It is tried to prevent workers from organising within a union and sometimes it is even impossible.  Unions are not taken seriously including work safety problems, no controls are made and workers are employed without any insurance and safety rules. By that, illegal employment is encouraged. Workers are threatened with unemployment and hunger to work under these conditions. In such a country, there will never be an end of work–related accidents and because of all these reasons, when it is obvious that workers are sent to death the accidents can be defined as “work-related murder”.  

Work-related murders are one basic characteristic of the AKP’s “new Turkey”. Ermenek, Isparta, Torunlar, Soma, Tuzla, Davutpaşa, Ostim, Kozlu... the result: 14.455 workers died.
In the AKP’s new Turkey, workers will be forced to live 80 work-related accidents every hour and 706.000 work-related accidents every year. 

In an AKP-governed Turkey that defines work-related murders as “the nature of the work”, there will always be work-related murders. This isn’t fate though. Apart from improving the working conditions, the working class could make an end to these murders by abolishing this exploiting system. In socialism, work-related accidents could happen but not work-related murders.