ANKARA - The Construction-Labor Union (İnşaat-İş Sendikası) has published a striking statement regarding the recent worker deaths across Türkiye, labeling them as "workplace homicides." The union emphasized that the primary cause of the increasing deaths is the "maximum profit seeking" by employers, the resulting lack of safety measures, and the absence of effective oversight. The union urgently called on authorities to take action.

The union stated that the worker deaths occurring in construction, agriculture, factories, workshops, the service sector, and on roads are a mirror of the exploitation and unregulated regime established in Türkiye.

Workplace Homicides in Recent Days

• Balıkesir: 18-year-old agricultural worker Zeynep Kanat died after the tractor carrying her and other workers overturned. Four other workers were injured. The incident once again brought to light the lack of oversight and precarious conditions in the agricultural sector.

• Eskişehir: Worker Mehmet Taş fell into a feed crushing machine at a mill and lost his life.

• Rize: 60-year-old roof repairman Yahya Yıldız died after falling from the roof of a three-story building he was repairing.

• İzmir: Marine worker İsmail Usta, in his 40s, died after falling into the sea off the coast of Karaburun.

• Şırnak: 27-year-old construction worker Yasin Ayıl died in Cizre after a cutting machine went out of control and cut his throat.

• Hatay: In Erzin, 23-year-old Bayram Mart was hit by a backhoe and died while working at a high school construction site.

• Ankara: 20-year-old Muhammet Erdem died in Kahramankazan after a crane cable snapped, causing a concrete column to fall on him at a factory construction site.

• Urfa: 41-year-old worker Kadir Kayış, who was electrocuted and fell from an electric pole while repairing an electrical fault, died 7 days later in the hospital.

• Aksaray: 21-year-old Ahmet Kaşıkçı, a subcontracted worker for a natural gas infrastructure company, was killed when a metal part fell on his head while he was repairing a truck axle. He had started the job just three days earlier.

• Samsun: Mustafa Peçe, a worker for the Terme Municipality, fell from a pole and died while changing a faulty street lamp.

The Construction-Labor Union’s statement concluded by emphasizing that these deaths are not coincidental but are the result of a systematic exploitation regime. The union urged that all occupational health and safety measures be fully implemented and that those responsible for these deaths be punished to protect the right to life.