The number of workers who have committed suicide due to economic woes and unemployment has massively increased in Turkey, a country that already occupies first place in the number of occupational murders.
The Occupational Health and Safety Council (İSİG) has reported that 71 workers committed suicide in 2017 until November. This number totalled 99 in all of 2013, 2014 and 2015.
The number of workers that committed suicide in 2016 was at least 90, according to a report prepared by the İSİG. The number of worker suicides reflected in the statistics indicate the economic deadlock in Turkey.
According to the report, the main cause of workers’ suicides is the economic downturn. As revealed in data of the İSİG report, most of the suicides have been due to financial debt. Unemployment and mobbing also play a significant role in the rise of workers’ suicides, again according to the report.
Evaluating the rising number of worker suicides in the recent period, İSİG member and labor inspector Şeref Özcan said that suicides are not included within the scope of occupational ‘accidents’ if they did not occur at the working place and added: "A worker may commit suicide at home or at any place outside of the workplace due to pressure and stress from where they work. A relevant law proposes that suicide should be taken into the scope of occupational 'accidents' if it is related to work, but it is very difficult for workers’ relatives to prove it."
IMPACT OF STATE OF EMERGENCY ON THE RISE OF WORKERS’ SUICIDES
Stating that the state of emergency declared by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) after last year's failed coup has a direct impact on the increase in workers' suicides in 2016 and 2017, Özcan pointed out that "As deregulation has increased, worker’s concerns for the future also increase. With the state of emergency, regulations -especially the extended working hours- undone by the government have caused a loss of confidence in the workers."
Underlining the importance for trade unions to struggle against pressure in the workplaces and poor working conditions, Özcan stated that "A well-organized trade union also has the potential to prevent mobbing. Thus, if we do not consider the problems in the private life of the workers, suicides based on work can be solved by trade unions."
