At least 741 workers died in workplace accidents in first five months of 2017: Report

ISTANBUL

At least 741 workers died in the first five months of 2017 in workplace accidents, with at least 146 worker deaths in May alone, according to a report recently released by a non-governmental organization dealing with worker health and safety issues.

The monthly report was shared by the Worker Health and Work Safety Assembly (İSİGM), an NGO comprised of workers, worker relatives, doctors, engineers, academics, journalists and lawyers who deal with labor issues. The organization reportedly based its June 4-dated report on data from print and online media, labor unions and organizations. 

The report noted that the sectors in which most workers died in May were agriculture and construction. According to the report, some 37 of the 146 workers who died in May were in the agriculture and forestry sector, while 30 were in construction and 23 in transportation. 

In the same month, 33 workers died after being crushed by structural collapses at workplaces, 26 in traffic accidents, 24 as a result of falling from height, 18 due to heart attack and cerebral bleedings, 10 in armed violence, eight in suicides, eight as a result of lightening stroke, four due to drowning and poisoning, three by electric shock, three as a result of their harnesses breaking, two due to being struck by objects, one in an explosion and six others due to other reasons. 
 
Of the 146 workers who lost their lives, in May, 113 were wage earners in the status of workers and civil servants, while the remaining 33 were registered as freelancers, with 28 of them being small landowners and five tradesmen. 

The report also released the age distribution of the victims, stating that five of the workers who died in May were aged between 15 and 17; some 19 were in the age group of 18-27; 68 of them aged between 28-50; 36 in the age group of 51-64; some eight were 65 and over; while the remaining 10 workers’ ages could not be determined. 

Most of the worker deaths in May occurred in Istanbul, the western provinces of Bursa and İzmir, Ankara, the Central Anatolian province of Konya and the Mediterranean resort of Antalya. 

Some 12 of the worker deaths in May occurred in Istanbul, while nine occurred separately in Bursa and nine occurred in İzmir. They were followed by Ankara and the Central Anatolian province of Konya with eight deaths in each province and Antalya with seven deaths, according to the report.