SALII VE GVENL KANUNU LAW FOR OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

İŞ SAĞLIĞI VE GÜVENLİĞİ KANUNU LAW FOR OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

Law for Occupational Health and Safety in Turkey has not been developed fully yet, to cover all the existing areas of industry and occupation, in accordance to European Law. Studies for conformity is on its way. In the meantime, there are older laws and legislations in use. • State of current law • What the new law will bring

Laws and Legislations put into use in Turkey the followings: • Dilaver Paşa Nizamnamesi (1865) • Maadin Nizamnamesi (1869) • 28 Nisan 1921 tarih ve 114 sayılı Zonguldak Ereğli Havzası Fahmiyesinde Mevcut Kömür Tozlarının Amele Menafii Umumiyesine Füruhtuna Dair Kanun. • 10 Eylül 1921 tarih ve 151 sayılı Ereğli Havza-i Fehmiyesi Maden Amelesinin Hukukuna Müteallik Kanun.

• 3008 Sayılı iş kanunu (1936) Has been valid for 31 years. • 931 Sayılı İş Kanunu (1967) Has been valid for 39 months. • 1475 Sayılı İş Kanunu (1971) Has been valid for 32 years. • 4857 Sayılı İş Kanunu (2003) Is currently valid. Legislation of Article Number 4857 has 31 regulations. 18 of these are in conformity with European Law, and remaining 13, not. Legislation includes 1 notification (tebliğ), 2 sets of regulations set by TAEK (Türkiye Atom Enerjisi Kurumu) (for safety for radioactivity, And The Set of Regfulations to prevent large scale work accidents in industry, set by Çevre ve Şehircilik Bakanlığı (Ministry of Environment and Urbanisation)

The Characteristics of the Article 4857, and legislations which are currently in use: • Based on observation and detection, focuses on results and consequences (reactive). • Contribution of workers is limited. • Covers a part of the workers only. • No priority order in management. • Protective approach

The Characteristics of the new vision which is under development: • Based on risk determination, has a preventive approach (pro-active) • Provides contribution of workers extensively at every stage. • Gets the support of qualified persons, seeks certification. • Provides communication between related parties, includes the contribution of each one of them. • Notification and registration of events, statistics • Structured and qualified education and documentation. • The new law and legislations is aiming to set up the new culture of Occupational Health and Safety, based on the prevention of work accidents and protection from work related illnesses.

Overview of the new İSG (İşçi Sağlığı ve Güvenliği) Occupational Health and Safety Law : • • • Duties of employer and employees, Internal and external inspection, Education, notification, contribution, İSG organisation and coordination, Managerial and monetary penalties.

All the employees of the government and the private sector are covered by the new law. • Irregardless of the number of employees, all white collar office workers, bodily workers, employers, apprentices, trainees, whether employed by the government or the private sector in all areas, including agriculture are covered by the law. • Excluded are the members of TSK (Turkish Armed Forces) and the police force, rescue teams operating in natural disasters, persons working inside a home and those working for their own selves.

İSG (İş Sağlığı ve Güvenliği) applications became compulsory at every work place. • Provided by the work place or company: • Work Safety experts, workplace doctor and other security personell, preferably employed by the company itself, • Formation of all İSG related teams. • Provided externally by: • OSGB (Organize Sanayi Geliştirme Bölgesi) Local Industrial Estates, • Ministry of Health and Social Security.

Government is providing monetary support to small companies employing less than 10 workers to cover their security expenses. • Exempting government offices, all the “Dangerous” and “Very Dangerous” work places employing less than 10 workers will be directly supported by the government. • Work places having less levels of danger, employing less than 10 workers will be supported by the permission of Council of Ministers (Bakanlar Kurulu)

Work Places will be classified into 3 groups as: • “VERY DANGEROUS”. These will employ Grade -A İSG Expert • “DANGEROUS”. These will employ Grade-B İSG Expert • “LESS DANGEROUS”. These will employ Grade -C İSG Expert • Classification will be done according to the main activity in the work place.

To facilitate Occupational Health and Safety (İSG), every work place is obligated to do a Risk Evaluation. Dangers effecting the health and safety of workers at every work place will be determined and necessary precautions will be taken to elliminate or reduce them.

Risk Evaluation: • In risk evaluation, dangers already existing at a work place or that can come from outside will be determined, • Factors that can convert the dangers into risks will be analysed and graduated • Control measures will be determined to elliminat or reduce them, as to minimise risks into acceptable limits, will be determined.

When is Risk Evaluation done ? • At the beginning of a work activity, • When a change is done in the work activity, • When work accidents or work-related illnesses occur, • Periodically, at equal time intervals.

Acceptable Risk Level is: That will not cause any casualties or injuries, conformable with the regulations and the prevention policies of the work place.

Precautions will be determined according to the levels of risks that are evaluated. • LOW RISK : will be reduced to acceptable limits by simple precautions and spending a minimum time. • MEDIUM RISK : will be reduced to acceptable limits by greater precautions and longer time. • HIGH RISK : will be reduced to acceptable limits by utilising all the resources of the work place. • UNACCEPTABLE RISK : will be reduced to acceptable limits by taking all the precautions including the stopping of the work.

Means of Preventing Dangers: • REPLACEMENT : A dangerous material, tool or method will be replaced by the one which generates less or no danger. • PREVENTION AT THE SOURCE, ENCLOSURE : Dangerous material tool or process will be isolated such that danger it produces will be confined within the enclosure. • ISOLATION : Dangerous area will be isolated from the rest of the work place. • ACCORDING TO THE SOURCE OF DANGER : a) Duration of exposure to the danger will be reduced b) Dose of the danger exposed will be reduced c) Detection and alarm systems will be installed.

Approaches in the prevention of dangers: • PERSONAL PROTECTİON : Bearing in mind that the precautions taken to reduce a danger may fail, appropriate peronal protection gear (Kişisel Koruyucu Donanım KDD) for every worker should be provided. • When a new method is put into use, it must not generate a new danger of its own.

Documentation: Risk evaluation will be documented. Documentation will contain the following information : • Names oh the persons who have done the evaluation, their affiliations and qualifications, • Time at which risk evaluation is done and duration for which it will be valid, • Names of different sections or departments in the work place, • Dangers noticed and their sources, • Risks noticed, • Methods used in risk analysis, • Results of Risk analses, • Precautions set to prevent or reduce the level of dangers, • Risk levels observed after the precautions are taken.

Principles of Protection from Dangers: • • Analysis of risks if they can not be prevented. Fighting against risks at their sources. Prevention of risks or their reduction. Replacement of any materials, tools or processes by the ones which impose less or no dangers. • Giving emphasis on mass protection rather than person al protection. • Keeping clear feom dangers as much as possible.

Plans will be made at workplaces for Emergency Situations. • To reduce the adverse effecte of emergency situations, necessary measurements and discussions must be made and emergency plans must be prepared accordingly. • Adequate number of personell and gear must be supplied to cope with the emergency situations. • Special education must be given to relevant personell and exercises must be carried out.

Any worker who is exposed to a serious and proximate danger, has the right to refuse working. • Anybody who is exposed to a serious and proximate danger, can demand necessary precautions to be taken. • If decision is taken for necessary precautions, a worker can refuse working until the requirements of the precautions are taken. • If a serious and proximate danger can not be prevented, workers can skip the conditions above and can leave the dangerous area or work place and go to a safe place. This right can not be alienated.

In case of a danger of fatality, work will be stopped partially or completely, at a work place. • In mines, metal and construction businesses and chemical industries where danger of fatality exists, work will be stopped immediately until a risk evaluation is done and precautions taken.

For work sites where fifty or more workers work and which endure longer than 6 months, a comittee for work safety should be formed. Duties of the employer in this respect are as follows : • a) Comittee directives on work safety should be put into application, • b) Other employers working at the same site, if any, will be acknowledged about the comittee directives put into effect, • c) Any sub-contractors will also be acknowledged and coordinated in the application of comittee directives.

Employer is responsible for acknowledging the employees about their rights and responsibilities about occupational safety under the following headings : • a) Risks of accidents, • b) Precautions to reduce risks to acceptable limits, • c) Rights and responsibilities of the employees in work accidents • d) How to reach the archives and documentation about the work safety

Employees should actively take part in occupational health and safety activities… • a) They will be educated by the employer about the risks and precautions. • b) Their opinions will be taken on how to reduce the risks by the employer • c) Contribution of every worker to related activities should be facilitated, • d) Workers will be represented in every comittee making policies of work safety.

Employees will undergo medical check-ups periodically. Every worker will have a medical check-up • When newly starts working at a plant • When his or her workplace within the same plant is changed, • When a work accident has occurred or a workrelated illness has appeared. Every worker will have a medical check-up before starting doing a dangerous or very dangerous job and get a medical report indicating that he is bodily and mentally fit for the job.

Industrial plants having a big risk of work accidents will not start working before preparing an accident prevention policy and getting a safety report. • Accident prevention policies will be examined by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and if found satisfactory, will grant a report accordingly.

At work places where more than one employer works, coordination between them will be established on work safety applications. • A central administration should be established at places where more than one employer works, like work sites, business centers, industrial estates etc.

Effective legal enforcements should be applied to facilitate the acceptance and applicability of the new law and related rules and regulations. Monetary Penalties : • Violation of the general responsibilities of the employer : 1, 120 TL/article • Missing risk evaluation : 3, 000 TL in the first instance, 4, 500 TL in continuation. • Missing reports of work accidents and work related illnesses : 1, 680 TL/worker • Missing health service and safety experts: 5, 601 TL /worker • Missing worker education : 1, 120 TL/worker • Missing Occupational health and safety committee : • Work not stopped in necessity : 11, 203 TL • Missing big accident prevention policy or safety report : 61, 681 TL, 98, 690 TL. • Disregard of any legislation article : 1, 233 TL/article/month.