"Hak-İş", one of the pioneers of the trade union movement in Turkey, turned 47 years old. On the occasion of the 47th anniversary of its foundation, an Extended Board of Presidents meeting was held in Ankara under the chairmanship of Hak-İş Confederation Chairman Mahmut Arslan.
Making the opening speech, Arslan reminded that the Confederation was faced with the 1980 coup at the beginning of its establishment, "It is very difficult to fit and describe the 47-year struggle of our Confederation in a short period of time. Our Hak-İş Confederation, which stepped into the Turkish working life on October 22, 1976, faced the darkest periods of the Turkish Republic history, the coups before it completed its infancy," Arslan said.
“WE MUST CARRY HAK-İŞ TO THE FUTURE”
Wishing the 47th anniversary of Hak-İş to be beneficial, Arslan stated that the power of Hak-İş and Turkey's power are one.
"Half a century of experience from yesterday to today shows us that. The power of Hak-Is is the power of Turkey. This country deserves it, Hak-İş deserves it too. If there is a need for a strong Turkey and civil society, Hak-İş needs to further consolidate its power. We have to embrace each other and strengthen our conversation with our 21 unions. We should push aside our personal resentments and carry Hak-İş into the future", he added.
“MENTALITY TRANSFORMATION IN OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY MUST BE EXPERIENCED”
Arslan pointed out that although important legal regulations have been made in the field of occupational health and safety in the last 20 years in Turkey, one of the most important agenda items in working life is occupational accidents as a social and economic injury, and stated that the majority of occupational accidents in Turkey are preventable accidents.
"Considering that 95 percent of the accidents are preventable, we need to determine where we are lacking. It is unfortunately seen that such accidents will never fall from our agenda unless necessary and sufficient precautions are taken, inspection weaknesses are not eliminated, penalties are not deterrent, and a mentality transformation in the field of occupational health and safety is not experienced. I wish God's mercy on our 41 martyrs and a speedy recovery to our wounded. It is up to us to take action. We want the necessary action to be taken of whoever has responsibility and negligence in this accident. We need this to prevent new accidents from happening. We see our President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's promise, 'We will do whatever is necessary to prevent these accidents' as a guarantee", he stated.