Tuzla?s shipyards threatened with closure

All the shipyards in Istanbul’s Tuzla district will be closed down if they do not implement regulations to prevent further worker deaths according to a local source. The success of shipyards should be with respect to human lives, labour minister Faruk Celik said, otherwise, regardless of the success it means that one earns money from deaths. Celik said 25 deaths had resulted from work-related accidents recently, but did not specify a time frame. In the last eight months, 18 workers have died according to data from the Port, Shipyard, Ship Construction and Repair Workers Trade Union (Limter). There are some cases where the cause of death has not been established, but those were included on the list of work-related deaths, Celik said.

A campaign that will harm the shipyard sector will not be correct, Celik said. There were 37 shipyards in Turkey until 2002 and now there are 76, with this number expected to increase gradually due to the numerous new orders, he said. The sector is involved in a serious amount of exports and this leads to exchange inflows to the country, said Celik.

Shipyards were a priority

Celik said Tuzla’s shipyards were among the first issues that he looked into on the first day he took up his ministerial duties. He is aware that it is a risky sector and recently inspected two shipyards but did not see any problems. He sent a group of inspectors the next day to investigate the remaining shipyards. Meanwhile, the Confederation of Revolutionary Workers’ Union (DISK) and Limter met with the Turkish Shipbuilders Association (GISBIR) last week to discuss possible safety measures to prevent work-related deaths. The three organizations are expected to meet once more this week.