An explosion on Sunday at the Oba Makarna pasta factory in northwestern Turkey has left one worker dead and 30 others injured, sparking renewed criticism over occupational safety standards in the country, the Bianet news website reported.
Of the injured, six remain in critical condition, with two of them intubated. Sixteen others were discharged after receiving treatment.
Efforts to control the fire triggered by the blast took several hours, and cooling operations are still ongoing. The Ministry of Labor and Social Security has dispatched inspectors to investigate the incident, but critics argue that such inspections come too late.
In a statement following the explosion, the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) slammed the government for failing to implement necessary safety regulations and inspections. The TTB pointed to past tragedies, including the 2020 Hendek fireworks factory explosion and last year’s grain silo blast in Kocaeli, which claimed a combined total of nine lives.
The association emphasized that lessons from previous accidents have gone unheeded, and criticized Minister of Labor and Social Security Vedat Işıkhan for only acting after fatalities occur.
“We remind the minister that his primary duty is to protect workers’ lives, not merely send inspectors after deaths,” said the TTB, calling for proactive safety measures to prevent further loss of life.
Oba Makarna’s management maintains that all legal safety requirements were met, but industrial safety professionals argue that oversight is often superficial. The TTB highlighted the lack of genuine safety measures, stating that worker health and safety services are often left to underpaid professionals without the authority to enforce regulations.
“According to the workers, the factory doesn’t comply with legal working hours, and excessive overtime is common.” said Erdal Genç, president of the Sakarya branch of the Şeker-İş union. “This leads to fatigue, distraction and, ultimately, accidents.”
Government negligence in enforcing workplace safety standards remains a contentious issue, with critics claiming that insufficient regulations have turned the country into a “graveyard for workers.”
A yearly report by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) on labor rights reveals that Turkey is one of the 10 worst countries in the world for working people. According to the Brussels-based ITUC, workers’ freedoms and rights continued to be relentlessly denied with police crackdowns on protests in Turkey in 2023.
