The Secretariat of the World Federation of Trade Unions has received with great sorrow the information for the tragedy that cost the lives of at least 200 mineworkers and injured many more during a coal mine explosion in Soma, Turkey about 250km south of Istanbul owned by Soma Komur Isletmeleri AS on May 13th, 2014.
The private-ownership over the mine and the profit-oriented policy that cuts down in up-to-date technology and periodic maintenance, the criminal lack of proper safety measures and the intensification of labour are the true causes behind the blast that hit the power unit, caused a fire and ended with the carbon monoxide poisoning of hundreds of mineworkers.
This was no accident and this was not an individual case, dozens of occupational and fatal accidents occur throughout the year in the mines of Turkey. The WFTU denounces the Government of Turkey and the companies exploiting the mines for their murderous lack of safety measures and demands the end of privatization of the people’s wealth, the natural resources, the modernization of the technology used in the mines, the immediate implementation of safety controls and the application of all necessary measures in all mines to protect the lives of the working people.
The World Federation of Trade Unions expresses its condolences to the families and the loved ones of the victims and demands the immediate full compensation of the victims’ families and the injured workers.
