Within the scope of the EUR 17.6 Million grant component of the Improving Occupational Health and Safety Especially in Mining Sector Project (MISGEP), in which the Directorate General of Occupational Health and Safety (DGOHS) is the Operation Beneficiary and the Directorate of European Union and Financial Assistance (DEUFA) is the Contracting Authority, we held the opening meeting of “Occupational Health and Safety Good Practice in the Leather Industry Project” carried out by Gerede Chamber of Commerce and Industry on 29 June 2021.
Opening speeches of the meeting were made by the Chairman of the Board of Gerede Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mr. Ersin KAŞKA, District Governor of Gerede Mr. Cengiz ÜNSAL, Rector of Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University Prof. Dr. Mustafa ALİŞARLI and Director General of Occupational Health and Safety Mr. Cafer UZUNKAYA.
In his speech, Director General of OHS Mr. Cafer UZUNKAYA stated that 36 grant projects were approved out of more than 400 applications within the scope of the grant component of the Improving Occupational Health and Safety Especially in Mining Sector Project (MISGEP), and that, aside from local authorities, these projects include universities, non-governmental organizations, chambers of commerce and industry. Mr. Cafer UZUNKAYA stated that all actors in work life contribute to occupational health and safety within the scope of the project and added that occupational health and safety will develop further with the joint contribution and sense of responsibility of all parties. He expressed his satisfaction about the participation of the district of Gerede in the project as the representative of the leather industry, and he mentioned the activities of Directorate General and the improvements made in the field of OHS and wished that the project would be beneficial.
In his speech, Rector of Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University Prof. Dr. Mustafa ALİŞARLI stated that the importance of human life and the occupational health and safety practices were better understood with the pandemic and that the trainings included in the project are extremely important for both this district and the country. District Governor of Gerede Mr. Cengiz AYHAN stated that with the organized industrial zone that was opened, higher capacity production is carried out in modern facilities, and that occupational health and safety will improve further with this technology and the project will contribute to this process.
In his speech, Chairman of Gerede Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mr. Ersin KAŞKA stated that Gerede has one of the 12 organized industrial zones on leather in Turkey. Mr. Ersin KAŞKA shared that in this industrial zone, products with leather obtained from cattle, such as shoes, wallets, belts and bags are produced and concluded his speech with positive wishes regarding the project.
After the opening speeches, Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University Assoc. Prof. Mr. Recep SOLUK made a presentation explaining all the phases of the project. In his speech, Retired Chief Labour Inspector Mr. Necmettin DEMİRSOY, who made the last presentation, conveyed his personal experiences and the development of occupational health and safety activities from past to present. The opening meeting was concluded with positive wishes.
After the opening meeting, the Director General of OHS Mr. Cafer Uzunkaya visited Tabaklar Ortak Girişim (T.O.G), the largest leather chrome tanning facility in Turkey, founded by fourteen entrepreneurs benefitting from Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization (KOSGEB) supports, located in Gerede, with a daily processing capacity of 70 tons of raw leather, and Çalışganlar Leather Chemical Tex. Ind. Trade. Co. Ltd. Chairman of the Board of Gerede Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mr. Ersin KAŞKA, Bolu Provincial Director of Labour and Employment Agency (İŞKUR) Mr. İsmail YALÇIN, Provincial Director of Social Security Institution Mr. Mehmet Hanefi TAŞTAN and Provincial Director of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization (KOSGEB) Mr. Abdurrahman USTA accompanied the visits, where Occupational Health and Safety rules were emphasized.