ISTANBUL – Turkish Daily News


Better employee training and the elimination of the subcontracting system were the two main recommendations of a meeting chaired by the prime minister regarding recent deaths in the Tuzla shipyards said the head of the trade union following yesterday's gathering.

No tiaaaable was established regarding the elimination of the subcontracting system said Necip Nalbantoğlu the head of Dok Gemi İş trade union saying employers would have the authority to decide what happens to subcontracting workers when the system is eliminated.

There were no oral or written statements from any other officials about the meeting at the time the Turkish Daily News went to press.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called the meeting with representatives of the Turkish shipping sector yesterday at his office in Istanbul's Beşiktaş District in order to discuss a solution to the increasing number of fatal work-related accidents at the Tuzla shipyards. Erdoğan together with the Transportation Minister Binali Yıldırım examined the Tuzla shipyard area from a police helicopter prior to the meeting. Labor Minister Faruk Çelik Industry and Commerce Minister Zafer Çağlayan Transportation Minister Binali Yıldırım and Culture Minister Ertuğrul Günay participated in the meeting along with representatives from the Dok Gemi İş trade union and the Shipbuilders Association or GİSBİR and members of a parliamentary commission on Tuzla.



Very few licenses

The Tuzla shipyard is the pride of Turaaa's booming ship construction industry but worker deaths are overshadowing that success said Erdoğan in his opening speech. Emphasizing that the Turkish economy and shipbuilding sector have developed rapidly Erdoğan said “The same problems will occur anywhere in the world if a growth like that takes place.” Erdoğan said there is no ship building industry in the world without some fatalities adding all industries should fulfill their responsibility for the safety of workers.

The number of licensed shipyards in Tuzla is very small Erdoğan said adding this should be solved urgently and that a specific tiaaaable should be set. “If you say ‘I will earn much more and do not care about any principle' we should stand up against you” the prime minister argued.

Labor Ministry inspectors decided to shut down two shipyards in Tuzla until they had taken necessary safety measures. One of the shipyards that was shut down Nur Istanbul had had no deadly accidents before it was closed down for one month. However inspectors said at the end of their inspection that the shipyard had risks of primary explosions or fires objects falling from high places and electrocution all of which pose a serious and unpreventable threat to workers. Dentaş Shipyard on the other hand was closed down for five days with experts citing the same risks. The shipyard will be closed down again after five days if it does not take the necessary precautions.



Protesting the meeting

Two different groups protested the meeting in Beşiktaş because Erdoğan did not invite representatives of the Limter İş union which has led strikes and highlighted the conditions at Tuzla. Nalbantoğlu who was also criticized by protesters for cooperating with the employers rather than thinking about workers said his union was invited as it is the only union that has collective bargaining authority. Limter İş on the other hand helps organize subcontracting workers who have suffered a disproportionate number of deadly accidents compared to other workers.