Occupational murder at Ankara’s municipality gets covered up

Occupational murder at the bus company of Ankara’s municipality, EGO, is being tried to get covered up, while the case reflects a typical scenario of occupational murder during the Turkish AKP government's rule
Wednesday, 05 September 2018 21:23

A worker at Turkey’s Ankara Metropolitan Municipality’s (affiliated with the ruling AKP) bus company (EGO), Erdal Becet, got heavily injured by falling from the roof of the maintenance and repair department’s building on July 21. The murder is being tried to get covered up by showing the reason as “natural death”.

A worker who has witnessed the incident told the police “I saw my friend Erdal Becet laying on the ground, wounded. Then emergency services took him for treatment. When he fell, he wasn’t wearing any helmet, vest or safety belt. He was acrophobia and I don’t know why he was at the roof. He warned our employers about his fear. As I learned later, his insurance entry was made after the occupational accident. Besides, Erdal didn’t receive any job safety training.”

Erdal Becet got into several surgeries and stayed in the hospital until Aug. 25. Becet’s family stated that he got discharged from the hospital without fully recovering, then got hospitalized again on Aug. 27.

After going through another surgery, Becet lost his life on Sep. 4.

Becet's family and his colleagues reacted to the fact that "natural death" was written as the cause of death during his funeral, and stated that it was an occupational murder. Following this reaction, the case got transferred to the prosecution office, Becet's funeral was taken to Keçiören Forensic Medicine Institution for an autopsy.

Occupational murders in Turkey have increased by 14 per cent between July 21, 2016, and July 18, 2018, as at least 3960 workers lost their lives in the meantime. Informality, flexibility and compromises on occupational health measures for the sake of capitalist class’ profit have resulted in more than 20 thousand work-related murders during AKP’s rule. “Natural death” or “fate” has been typical expressions following these deaths, which has been a way of the government escaping from accountability for these murders.