Statement by the United Transport Workers Union about the accident in Elazig

Statement about the accident in Elazig from the United Transport Employees Union: The United Transport Employees Union (BTS) made a statement about the accident that occurred in Elazig where 9 people died and said, “In order to prevent cross-level accidents; Accidents can be prevented by turning the level crossings into under / overpasses. For this, TCDD, Special Provincial Administrations, General Directorate of Highways and Municipalities should fulfill their responsibilities. However, it is not possible to take a step as the crossing of the level crossings is considered as a cost element only by the relevant institutions. ” A written statement from the United Transportation Employees Union Central Executive Board is as follows:
“On 20.06.2016, 9 agricultural workers, including Syrian workers, were killed, and 1 agricultural worker was seriously injured as a result of the train, which was carrying out the Tatvan-Ankara expedition in the Yurtbaşı town of Elazığ, at the level crossing. First of all, we would like to express our condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the accident, and we wish immediate healing to the injured. Today, a new one has been added to the fatal and injured business murders that we experience almost every day. While many warnings about worker health and safety have been made by our union to date, necessary measures have been requested to be taken on issues threatening the safety of navigation. However, such accidents continue to occur on railways, and these accidents cause death and injury to many people. These accidents in level crossings have increased significantly with the practices implemented during the liquidation process of TCDD, especially under the name of restructuring. As we said before, in order to avoid level crossing accidents; Accidents can be prevented by turning the level crossings into under / overpasses. For this, TCDD, Special Provincial Administrations, General Directorate of Highways and Municipalities should fulfill their responsibilities. However, it is not possible to take a step, as the crossing of the level crossings is considered as a cost element only by the relevant institutions. And this will be another pain caused by the accident; Refugees who have to take refuge in our country due to the war environment in Syria are illegally employed without any security precautions and social security. Those responsible for this painful picture are political power that does not take the necessary security measures, obstructs our demands, ignores our warnings and insists on this. We invite those responsible once again to take the necessary measures. ”