Occupational Health and Safety Law is 10 Years Old

The need to work in a healthy and safe environment is one of the most basic human rights. Meeting this need is important for employers as well as employees. Working conditions in our country have been regulated in labor laws for many years. However, due to the rapid growth of our industry and the increase in occupational accidents, an independent law was needed, and the Occupational Health and Safety Law No. 6331 was published in the Official Gazette 10 years ago, on 30 June 2012, taking into account the work done and the harmonization laws of the European Union. .

In the last 10 years, although especially large industrial organizations have complied with the Occupational Health and Safety legislation, the working life throughout the country has not been able to operate in accordance with the legislation. In this process, the continuous postponement of certain articles of the Law, the coup attempt, the pandemic and economic problems have been the main reasons for the failures in implementation.

As the Izmir Chamber of Commerce, representatives of our companies that serve the industry to solve the problems experienced in practice about 2 years ago and to correct some of the articles in the legislation that were constantly postponed, and the representatives of the manufacturing industry such as construction, metal, machinery, chemistry, furniture, iron and steel, which receive services in this scope, came together. Occupational Health and Safety Commission was established.

Our commission has taken initiatives before the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey and the General Directorate of Occupational Health and Safety regarding the correction of the issues they have identified in the legislation and practice in the studies they have done so far. In addition, information meetings were held for our members in order to spread Occupational Health and Safety awareness.

As the Izmir Chamber of Commerce, we believe that Occupational Health and Safety is a culture and that this culture will take its place in the working life of our country, starting with our schools, together with the family, employee, employer and state, and we believe that occupational accidents will decrease visibly in the next 10 years.