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Occupational Health and Safety Performance of Turkey: An Overview of Current Trends

Year 2020, Volume: 2 Issue: 2, 123 - 136, 31.12.2020

Abstract

Occupational health and safety issues are one of the most important issues of the working life for Turkey as well as for the entire world. With the developing industrial activities, the working population is increasing day by day, and accordingly, there is an increase in the accident rates at workplaces. According to the latest estimates of the International Labor Organization (ILO), every year 2.78 million employees die from work accidents and diseases in the world, and 374 million employees are exposed to non-fatal work accidents. Again, according to ILO, the numbers of both work accidents and occupational diseases tend to increase from year to year. Occupational health and safety practices aim to minimize the accidents and occupational diseases that occur in the workplaces by adapting the working conditions to human beings. According to official data in Turkey, approximately 400 thousand accidents have been recorded in recent years and an average of 1500 employees died due to work accidents. Even though these data are supported by laws regarding occupational safety in our country, it still maintains its importance as a very important problem. In this study, the data of 2019 work accidents and occupational diseases published by the Social Security Institution (SSI) were analyzed to draw attention to this important problem. Moreover, Turkey's OSH performance was compared with Germany and Japan from various angles. Finally, various suggestions have been developed to solve the problem.

References

  • MIZRAK K. C., TOLON M. (2017) Occupational Health and Safety and Sustainable Development in Turkish Construction Industry [in Turkish]. Nişantaşı University Journal of Social Sciences 5.2, 14-28.
  • CEREN G., YILDIRIM S. (2018) A Study on the effects of personal characteristics of employees on occupational accidents and occupational diseases [in Turkish]. Fırat Üniversitesi İİBF Uluslararası İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Dergisi Cilt:2, Sayı:1, 53-72.
  • ALLI B. O. (2008) Fundamental Principles of Occupational Health and Safety. 2nd Edition, Geneva, ILO Publications.
  • ILO. (2019) Safety and Health at The Heart of The Future of Work: Building on 100 Years of Experience. ILO Publications.
  • GÜMÜŞ R. (2017). Analysis of occupational accidents in 2015 in Turkey and comparing them with data of 2014 [in Turkish]. The Journal of Academic Social Science Studies Number: 55, 277-287, Spring II 2017, Doi number:http://dx.doi.org/10.9761/JASSS6916
  • Anonymous. (2003) Labour Law, Law No: 4857, Official Gazette, No: 25134, [in Turkish].
  • Anonymous. (2012) Occupational Health and Safety Law, Law No: 6331, Official Gazette, No: 28339, [in Turkish].
  • CEYLAN H. (2011) Overview of occupational accidents in Turkey and comparison with developed countries. International Journal of Engineering Research and Development, 3 (2), 18-24. Retrieved from https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/umagd/issue/31722/345742
  • ILO. (2020) Occupational Injuries. ILO Publications. Retrieved from https://www.ilo.org/ilostat-files/Documents/description_INJ_EN.pdf. Erişim tarihi: 16.06.2020
  • Anonymous. (2006) Social Insurance and General Health Insurance Law, Law No: 5510, Official Gazette, No: 26200, [in Turkish]
  • CEYLAN H., BAŞHELVACI V. (2011) Risk Analysis with Risk Assessment Table Method: An Application [in Turkish]. International Journal of Engineering Research and Development, 3 (2), 25-33. Retrieved from https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/umagd/issue/31722/345743
  • CEYLAN H. (2012) Analysis of Occupational Accidents According to the Sectors In Turkey. Gazi University Journal of Science, 25(4), 909-918.
  • SSI (Social Security Institution), (2020) "2012-2019 Statistical Yearbooks", SGK Yayını, http://www.sgk.gov.tr/wps/portal/sgk/tr/kurumsal/istatistik/sgk_istatistik_yilliklari Erişim tarihi: 22.06.2020
  • Anonymous, DGUV (German Social Accident Insurance), DGUV Statistics 2012-2019 - Current figures and long-term trends, https://publikationen.dguv.de/ Access Date: 20.05.2020.
  • Anonymous, JISHA (Japan Industrial Safety and Health Association), OSH Statistics in Japan 2012-2019, http://www.jisha.or.jp/english/statistics/ Access Date: 20.04.2020.

Occupational Health and Safety Performance of Turkey: An Overview of Current Trends

Year 2020, Volume: 2 Issue: 2, 123 - 136, 31.12.2020

Abstract

Occupational health and safety issues are one of the most important issues of the working life for Turkey as well as for the entire world. With the developing industrial activities, the working population is increasing day by day, and accordingly, there is an increase in the accident rates at workplaces. According to the latest estimates of the International Labor Organization (ILO), every year 2.78 million employees die from work accidents and diseases in the world, and 374 million employees are exposed to non-fatal work accidents. Again, according to ILO, the numbers of both work accidents and occupational diseases tend to increase from year to year. Occupational health and safety practices aim to minimize the accidents and occupational diseases that occur in the workplaces by adapting the working conditions to human beings. According to official data in Turkey, approximately 400 thousand accidents have been recorded in recent years and an average of 1500 employees died due to work accidents. Even though these data are supported by laws regarding occupational safety in our country, it still maintains its importance as a very important problem. In this study, the data of 2019 work accidents and occupational diseases published by the Social Security Institution (SSI) were analyzed to draw attention to this important problem. Moreover, Turkey's OSH performance was compared with Germany and Japan from various angles. Finally, various suggestions have been developed to solve the problem.

References

  • MIZRAK K. C., TOLON M. (2017) Occupational Health and Safety and Sustainable Development in Turkish Construction Industry [in Turkish]. Nişantaşı University Journal of Social Sciences 5.2, 14-28.
  • CEREN G., YILDIRIM S. (2018) A Study on the effects of personal characteristics of employees on occupational accidents and occupational diseases [in Turkish]. Fırat Üniversitesi İİBF Uluslararası İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Dergisi Cilt:2, Sayı:1, 53-72.
  • ALLI B. O. (2008) Fundamental Principles of Occupational Health and Safety. 2nd Edition, Geneva, ILO Publications.
  • ILO. (2019) Safety and Health at The Heart of The Future of Work: Building on 100 Years of Experience. ILO Publications.
  • GÜMÜŞ R. (2017). Analysis of occupational accidents in 2015 in Turkey and comparing them with data of 2014 [in Turkish]. The Journal of Academic Social Science Studies Number: 55, 277-287, Spring II 2017, Doi number:http://dx.doi.org/10.9761/JASSS6916
  • Anonymous. (2003) Labour Law, Law No: 4857, Official Gazette, No: 25134, [in Turkish].
  • Anonymous. (2012) Occupational Health and Safety Law, Law No: 6331, Official Gazette, No: 28339, [in Turkish].
  • CEYLAN H. (2011) Overview of occupational accidents in Turkey and comparison with developed countries. International Journal of Engineering Research and Development, 3 (2), 18-24. Retrieved from https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/umagd/issue/31722/345742
  • ILO. (2020) Occupational Injuries. ILO Publications. Retrieved from https://www.ilo.org/ilostat-files/Documents/description_INJ_EN.pdf. Erişim tarihi: 16.06.2020
  • Anonymous. (2006) Social Insurance and General Health Insurance Law, Law No: 5510, Official Gazette, No: 26200, [in Turkish]
  • CEYLAN H., BAŞHELVACI V. (2011) Risk Analysis with Risk Assessment Table Method: An Application [in Turkish]. International Journal of Engineering Research and Development, 3 (2), 25-33. Retrieved from https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/umagd/issue/31722/345743
  • CEYLAN H. (2012) Analysis of Occupational Accidents According to the Sectors In Turkey. Gazi University Journal of Science, 25(4), 909-918.
  • SSI (Social Security Institution), (2020) "2012-2019 Statistical Yearbooks", SGK Yayını, http://www.sgk.gov.tr/wps/portal/sgk/tr/kurumsal/istatistik/sgk_istatistik_yilliklari Erişim tarihi: 22.06.2020
  • Anonymous, DGUV (German Social Accident Insurance), DGUV Statistics 2012-2019 - Current figures and long-term trends, https://publikationen.dguv.de/ Access Date: 20.05.2020.
  • Anonymous, JISHA (Japan Industrial Safety and Health Association), OSH Statistics in Japan 2012-2019, http://www.jisha.or.jp/english/statistics/ Access Date: 20.04.2020.
There are 15 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Engineering
Journal Section Research Articles
Authors

Hüseyin Ceylan 0000-0001-7070-3949

Gizem Demir 0000-0002-3578-6811

Publication Date December 31, 2020
Published in Issue Year 2020 Volume: 2 Issue: 2

Cite

APA Ceylan, H., & Demir, G. (2020). Occupational Health and Safety Performance of Turkey: An Overview of Current Trends. İSG Akademik, 2(2), 123-136.
AMA Ceylan H, Demir G. Occupational Health and Safety Performance of Turkey: An Overview of Current Trends. İSG-A. December 2020;2(2):123-136.
Chicago Ceylan, Hüseyin, and Gizem Demir. “Occupational Health and Safety Performance of Turkey: An Overview of Current Trends”. İSG Akademik 2, no. 2 (December 2020): 123-36.
EndNote Ceylan H, Demir G (December 1, 2020) Occupational Health and Safety Performance of Turkey: An Overview of Current Trends. İSG Akademik 2 2 123–136.
IEEE H. Ceylan and G. Demir, “Occupational Health and Safety Performance of Turkey: An Overview of Current Trends”, İSG-A, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 123–136, 2020.
ISNAD Ceylan, Hüseyin - Demir, Gizem. “Occupational Health and Safety Performance of Turkey: An Overview of Current Trends”. İSG Akademik 2/2 (December 2020), 123-136.
JAMA Ceylan H, Demir G. Occupational Health and Safety Performance of Turkey: An Overview of Current Trends. İSG-A. 2020;2:123–136.
MLA Ceylan, Hüseyin and Gizem Demir. “Occupational Health and Safety Performance of Turkey: An Overview of Current Trends”. İSG Akademik, vol. 2, no. 2, 2020, pp. 123-36.
Vancouver Ceylan H, Demir G. Occupational Health and Safety Performance of Turkey: An Overview of Current Trends. İSG-A. 2020;2(2):123-36.