Work accidents and occupational illnesses represent a global challenge. Recent data from the International Labour Organization (ILO) highlight a troubling increase, with nearly three million individuals dying from work-related accidents and illnesses annually, reflecting a rise of over 5% since 2015 on a global scale. Considering that the global workforce is approximately 3.5 billion, this means that one in a thousand employees is dying due to work each year. This equates to 8,200 fatalities each day, and approximately 80 more will be dead while you are reading this article. These statistics underscore the persistent difficulties in safeguarding the occupational health and safety (OHS) of the global workforce. But more importantly, these are not just statistical numbers; each and every one of them are people who have family, children, ideals, plans, and hope, all lost with one single accident.

The majority of work-related fatalities globally, amounting to 2.6 million deaths, result from occupational illnesses, with an additional 330,000 deaths due to workplace accidents, according to ILO analysis. The leading causes of work-related mortality include circulatory diseases, malignant neoplasms, occupational cancers, and respiratory ailments, which together account for more than three-quarters of the total fatalities. Industrial and traffic accidents are the primary source of fatalities in accidents.

These findings originate from the recent ILO report titled "A Call for Safer and Healthier Working Environments," presented at the 23rd World Congress on Safety and Health at Work held in Sydney, Australia, on Nov. 27-30, 2023. The report notably highlights a concerning gender disparity in work-related fatalities, with a significantly higher incidence among men (51.4 per 100,000 working-age adults) compared to women (17.2 per 100,000). Additionally, the Asia-Pacific region exhibits the highest proportion of work-related mortality, accounting for 63% of the global total, which is reflective of the region's substantial workforce size and poor working conditions. As global production is shifting toward the region, the phenomenon of exporting occupational hazards and transfer of work accidents from the global north and the west is appearing as a defining theme alongside new and condensed OHS risks originating from the deregulation of labor markets.

Türkiye among the worst in OECD

Unfortunately, within this global picture, Türkiye is not among the best. Türkiye has a terrible record in terms of OHS among its own league. Work accident rates are among the worst among the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) members, as well as compared to the EU-27.

In Türkiye, over 620,000 work accidents occurred nationwide in 2023. The number of work accidents has been climbing consistently by years since 2012, despite the fact that an immense OHS reform was made in that year. The number of work accidents increased from approximately 73,000 annually in 2012 to 191,000 by 2013, 356,000 by 2017, 432,000 by 2018, 511,000 by 2022 and finally hit a historical record of 621,000 annually by the end of 2023.

Almost 2,000 employees are dying due to a lack of sufficient occupational health and safety precautions each year and more than twice this number is becoming permanently incapable and allocated a benefit. Almost 275,000 are getting permanent incapacity benefits or survivor benefits from the Social Security Institution (SGK) each month as a result of work-related accidents and illnesses, which adds additional loads to the already on-the-edge financial sustainability of the Turkish social security budget.

The situation has worsened within the last decade. Due to the deterioration within the last decade, the rate of workers with accidents in the total workforce climbed from 0.91% in 2007 to 2.88% as of 2023. The rate of work accidents, according to the standardized incidence rates per 100,000 employed, has climbed more than five-fold from 550 in 2012 to 2,800 by 2022. These figures show that the country is not just one of the worst among the OECD members, but the problem is metastasizing. Despite small but consistent amelioration observed till 2012, after the OHS reform 2012, the number of work accidents has shown a swift worsening and increased nine-fold within a decade. No such striking immense increase has been observed in any other country in the same period, which is a phenomenon that requires academic scrutiny.

Not just social but also economic issues

Work accidents do not only constitute a social problem, but they are also and essentially a serious macroeconomic issue. This is because work accidents result in tremendous economic losses both at the personal level, the enterprise level and the economy level. Work-related accidents yield not only fatalities or permanent disabilities among employees but also disrupt production, unsettle labor peace and lead to significant loss of working hours and added value. Consequently, these accidents impose substantial burdens on workplaces, industries and economies at large.

Within scholarly discourse, the cost of work-related accidents is typically categorized into direct and indirect costs. Direct costs stem directly from the accidents, whereas indirect costs manifest indirectly in the short and medium terms. Literature suggests that indirect costs can be up to four to ten times higher than direct costs. Long- and short-term analysis is also another approach to the costs. Examining the financial ramifications of work-related accidents enables researchers to assess the economic losses stemming from inadequate occupational health and safety measures in workplaces.

According to the official statistics of the SGK, due to work-related accidents, more than 5 million working hours are being lost annually in Türkiye, not to mention fatalities, permanent disabilities, health care expenses for the injured and disruption of career plans of individuals.

According to the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), the global cost of work accidents and occupational illnesses is estimated at 2,860 billion euros, which is approximately 3.9% of global GDP. The cost for the EU-27 is estimated to be at least 476 billion euros every year or 3.3% of European GDP. The cost of work-related cancers alone amounts to EUR 119.5 billion.

It is hard to calculate the economic losses from work accidents exactly. Yet, considering the Turkish GDP is $1,024 trillion as of 2023 and applying the 3.9% global rate, the Turkish economic losses are estimated at least TL 1,3 trillion (approx. $40 billion), which is an optimistic projection. Pessimists are defending that the country is losing up to 7% of its GDP to work-related accidents and illnesses, thus the economic cost is topping to TL 2,4 trillion (approx. $72 billion) each year, considering short- and long-term expenses altogether. Considering that the Turkish trade deficit as of May 2024 is $93 billion if occupational health and safety can be achieved sufficiently in all sectors, the funds saved can close the foreign trade deficit of Türkiye up to 75%. This shows how a critical challenge is the tusk of avoiding work accidents for the Turkish economy. Thus, within the current macroeconomic stability program of the country, avoiding work accidents and occupational illnesses should be seen as a critical issue of economic policy, not only a social challenge.

Awaiting an urgent OHS reform

All these figures demonstrate that occupational accidents are considered a serious challenge for Türkiye. Türkiye requires urgent reform in terms of occupational health and safety implementation and regulation. The 2012 reform did not work well and resulted in a worsening picture, a climbing number of work accidents and an increase in the severity of the accidents. Learning from past mistakes, the country should urgently start a novel OHS reform.

For the country, enhancing the occupational health and safety model requires a multi-faceted approach. First, there needs to be a stronger enforcement of existing regulations and standards. This can be achieved by increasing the number of inspections and ensuring that penalties for non-compliance are substantial enough to deter violations. However, this cannot be done with the existing structure of dispersed audition units. The Ministry of Labor and Social Security and Social Security Institution should make an inspection reform such as the one done by the Ministry of Finance years ago, and all the audition and inspection units should be united and rearranged to be cost-effective.

Additionally, regular training programs should be mandated for both employers and employees to raise awareness about potential hazards and proper safety practices. These programs should aim to be behavior changes and to be tailored to specific cultural attitudes to maximize their effectiveness. In the end, work accidents are closely related to the cultural attitudes of the society.

Furthermore, it is crucial to foster a culture of safety within workplaces. This involves encouraging open communication about safety concerns and involving workers in the development of safety protocols. Employers should be incentivized to invest in modern safety equipment and technologies that can reduce the risk of accidents. Collaboration between government bodies, industry associations, trade unions and educational institutions should be promoted to lead to innovative solutions and continuous improvement in workplace OHS standards.

Last and most critical of all, the OHS professionals, namely "occupational physicians," "safety experts" and "workplace nurses," should be made independent of the employer of the workplace they give service. They should be getting their wages from an independent body, they should have job security, and shouldn’t be restricted by employers with threats of dismissal. If this can be done, the OHS professionals can be the eyes and ears of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security and SGK at workplaces and enterprises rather than yielding to the employer.

In sum, the challenge of the occupational health and safety problem of Türkiye constitutes an important aspect of aligning the Turkish welfare model into a sustainable and cost-efficient welfare system alongside being an issue of macro-economic sustainability. Omitting this important challenge and failing to find proper solutions to this deteriorating problem would mean not only the loss of lives, with thousands each year but also serious cracks in the current macroeconomic program.