Safety and Health

Turkey ratifies the Safety and Health in Construction Convention, 1988 (No. 167) and the Safety and Health in Mines Convention, 1995 (No. 176)

Turkey is the thirtieth and twenty-seventh ILO member State to have ratified, respectively, Convention No. 176 and Convention No.167, which aim to improve the safety and health of millions of mine and construction workers worldwide.

News | 24 March 2015
On 23 March 2015, the Government of Turkey deposited with the International Labour Office the instruments of ratification of the Safety and Health in Mines Convention, 1995 (No. 176) and the Safety and Health in Construction Convention, 1988 (No. 167). Turkey is thus the thirtieth and twenty-seventh ILO member State to have ratified, respectively, Convention No. 176 and Convention No.167, which aim to improve the safety and health of millions of mine and construction workers worldwide.

In depositing the instruments of ratification, Mr. Faruk Çelik, the Minister of Labour and Social Security of Turkey stated: “I am very pleased to inform the ILO that Turkey has ratified Conventions No. 167 and No. 176. In addition to these Conventions on occupational health and safety, Turkey has already ratified Conventions Nos. 155, 161 and 187. Ratifying all of these Conventions since 2004 shows Turkey’s commitment to attaining international norms and standards. The Turkish legislation on occupational health and safety was reviewed and totally renewed in 2012 with the enactment of the Occupational Health and Safety Act No. 6331 in compliance with ILO Conventions and EU Directives which enabled Turkey to ratify related ILO Conventions without hesitation. The main problem at the moment is lack of a safety culture in society rather than the lack of legislation or regulation in various sectors. So far, in all 81 provinces of Turkey, we have given seminars and conferences to thousands of people on the recent legislative changes and the importance of workplace safety. I express my gratitude to the ILO Director-General for the ongoing cooperation between Turkey and ILO, particularly on occupational health and safety. Jointly with the ILO and the International Social Security Association (ISSA), we organized and hosted the 19th World Congress on Safety and Health at Work in 2011 in İstanbul. Labour Ministers from 33 countries have committed to placing occupational health and safety issues high in their national agendas by adopting the İstanbul Declaration at this event.”

Referring to Turkey’s G20 Presidency of 2015, the Minister Çelik indicated that Turkey has placed occupational health and safety issue among the topics to be discussed throughout the year. He underlined that the Government, under the leadership of the Prime Minister, is committed to take necessary measures to ensure safer workplaces for workers and employers within the spirit of social dialogue.

In receiving the instruments of ratification, Mr Guy Ryder, Director-General of the International Labour Office, said :“I am very pleased that Turkey is now one of the member States that have ratified Conventions No.167 and No.176, complementing its ratifications of the Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155), the Occupational Health Services Convention, 1985 (No. 161) and the Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 2006 (No. 187). These ratifications reflect the commitment of the Government of Turkey in pursuing and strengthening its efforts to develop and promote a safety and health culture in the country including in two of the most hazardous sectors, construction and mining.”

Each year, mining and construction record among the highest rates of occupational accidents and fatalities, at the international level. The importance of protecting miners and construction workers led to the adoption of Conventions No. 167 and No. 176, complementing Convention No. 155 of 1981. Conventions Nos. 167 and 176 establish a clear framework of responsibilities, rights and obligations in the area of OSH, both at the national level and at the level of the enterprise, in these two sectors.

In May last year, the ILO, the Government and the social partners began a process to develop a Tripartite Roadmap for Improving Occupational Safety and Health, in particular in the mining sector. A first discussion on this Roadmap was held at a National Tripartite Meeting in October 2014. Since the beginning of 2015 the ILO is providing technical assistance to support the tripartite constituents of Turkey in the development and implementation of this Roadmap, in the light of the strategic framework of the Third National Policy (2014-2018). The ratifications of Convention Nos. 167 and 176 constitute a key step towards ensuring improved occupational safety and health conditions in mining and in construction and the ILO is engaged with the Government of Turkey to facilitate the effective implementation of these Conventions in the context of the development of a safety and health culture in in the country.

To date, Turkey has ratified 59 international labour Conventions. For more information, see:
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