MİSGEP Meets with Employers and NGO Executives in Afyonkarahisar to Discuss the Mining Sector
As part of MİSGEP, implemented by the Directorate General of Occupational Health and Safety (İSGGM) and funded by the European Union and the Republic of Turkey, the “MİSGEP Mining Sector Consultation Meetings” continued in Afyonkarahisar. These meetings aim to improve occupational health and safety conditions in mining workplaces and raise awareness in this field across seven regions and 25 provinces of Turkey. The meeting was attended by Afyonkarahisar Deputy Governor Mehmet KEKLİK, Head of the Department of Legislation Affairs at the Directorate General of Occupational Health and Safety İsmail GÜLTEKİN, as well as representatives from İŞKUR, the Social Security Institution (SGK), KOSGEB, the Zafer Development Agency Afyonkarahisar Investment Support Office, mining enterprises operating in the region, OHS service providers (OSGBs), and senior executives from NGOs.
In his opening remarks, Afyonkarahisar Deputy Governor Mehmet KINIK stated, “Our Ministry of Labour and Social Security continues its efforts on occupational health and safety. The faster a society adapts to a safety culture, the faster its development, harmony, and welfare in the workplace will increase. We attach great importance to this meeting, which aims to raise awareness among employers by closely following such an important issue. I wish continued success to our Directorate General of Occupational Health and Safety and the MİSGEP team, and I hope this project brings benefits to our province and to all of Turkey.”
Head of the Department of Legislation Affairs İsmail GÜLTEKİN discussed the general status of occupational health and safety among workplaces and employers in the Afyonkarahisar region, saying, “To spread a safety culture in workplaces, employees’ opinions should be taken, and their participation should be ensured. The top manager of a workplace should adopt this culture and promote it actively and continuously. This is crucial for employee compliance with safety rules. Leadership in OHS must belong to employers. Afyonkarahisar has made rapid progress in this regard — compared to 2013, the province ranked 67th among the regions showing the greatest improvement in the fatal workplace accident rate in 2019.”
During the consultation session, MİSGEP Team Leader Gökhan GÜLER and Dr. Hacer KAYHAN provided participants with information on occupational health and safety practices in the mining sector based on global examples, legal obligations regarding mining and administrative fines, compensations following workplace accidents, the impact of unionization on OHS, pneumoconiosis as one of the most common occupational diseases in the sector, and the costs and benefits of preventing occupational accidents. After each topic, participants shared their opinions and feedback.
