On behalf of ILO Director-General Guy Ryder, a delegation led by Rie Vejs,  took place in Hak-iş, to express their profound sorrow and extended condolences to Turkey and Hak-İş Confederation.

On behalf of Hak-İş president, Settar Aslan pointed out “Human oriented working system and the vital importance of occupational safety and health. Within this framework, Turkey  urgently should ratify and adopt Safety and Health in Mines Convention (No. 176).” He also added the neccesity of pressure groups to governments as civil society organisations

Aslan said, “Workers need to be organised under the roof of unions which means the indicator of advanced democracies. Subcontracting system has become an unacceptable practice and should be ended instantly.”

In addition, all workers in the public and private sectors should be employed as permanent staff. Trade unions are the insurances of occupational health and safety. In this sense, legel regulations need to be implemented.

ILO Director-General Guy Ryder, condolence letter to Hak-İş:

“I’m immensely saddened at the deaths of so many miners in Turkery. On behalf of the ILO, I extend my heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. We are with them in their sorrow.

Our thougts are also with those who were injured and we trust they will be provided with all necessary assistance for their recovery. We also extend our support to those involved in the rescue operations.

This tragedy is a reminder of the paramounth importance of occupational safety and health in the mining sector, the ILO stands ready to provide continued support to ensure the safety of workers in line with international standards and to prevent future accidents.”