Within the scope of Improving Occupational Health and Safety Especially in Mining Sector Project (MISGEP), implemented by the Directorate General of Occupational Health and Safety (DGOHS) and financed by the European Union and the Republic of Turkey, “MISGEP Mining Sector Consultation Meetings”, which cover 81 provinces around the 7 regions of Turkey, continue in Denizli, after İzmir, Manisa and Aydın to improve occupational health and safety conditions in mining workplaces and to raise awareness in this field. The Deputy Governor of Denizli Mr. Abdullah ETLİ, the Deputy Director General of Occupational Health and Safety Mr. Burhanettin KURT as well as representatives of other public institutions, mining enterprises operating in Denizli, and the senior directors of NGOs participated in the meeting.
In his opening speech, the Deputy Director General of Occupational Health and Safety Mr. Burhanettin KURT emphasized the importance of human life and stated that the occupational health and safety is the most important issue of working life; and he added, “We should consider the expenditures made for occupational health and safety as an investment that protects both the workplace and the employer rather than a cost.”
In the consultation session of the meeting, MISGEP Team Leader Mr. Gökhan GÜLER and Asst. Prof. Dr. Hacer KAYHAN informed the participants on topics such as occupational health and safety practices in mining industry by reviewing examples from the world, legal obligations regarding mining and administrative fines, compensation after occupational accidents, the impact of unionisation on occupational health and safety, pneumoconiosis which is the most common occupational disease in the industry, and the costs and benefits of preventing occupational accidents. The opinions of the participants were received after each topic during the meeting.
