The ILO’s Safety and Health in Mines Convention: Reframing the Scope of Obligations for a Sustainable World
The ILO’s Safety and Health in Mines Convention: Reframing the Scope of Obligations for a Sustainable World
On
March 23, 2015 the Turkish government ratified ILO Convention No. 176, the
international labour convention concerning occupational safety and health in
mines. This multilateral treaty will enter into force for Turkey in 2016. After
a lengthy advocacy campaign that received renewed attention after major
disasters in the mining industry, more attention is being paid to the
implementation of this important ILO convention. Post-ratification application
of the convention in the unique Turkish context requires revisiting the
obligations of the convention itself. Whether the convention becomes an empty
promise to Turkish mine workers or a living document for the protection of
worker safety and health remains an open question. Recent recommendations by an
ILO technical assistance project raise important questions about the scope of
Convention No. 176 and the need for stronger efforts by the Turkish state to
achieve reform in the coal mining industry. This article discusses the ILO’s
Safety and Health in Mines Convention in light of recent ILO technical
assistance work in Turkey. It outlines arguments in favor of a more expanded
legal interpretation of the obligations of Convention No. 176 in light of
dangerous business practices in the coal mining industry and in light of the
global community’s new international consensus on sustainable development
Keywords:
Safety and health, human rights, mine workers, international labour standards sustainability,
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- 1. Convention (No. 176) concerning safety and health in mines. Adopted at the 82nd Session of the International Labour Conference held on 22 June 1995 in Geneva. 2029 U.N.T.S. 207 (1995).
- 2. International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (2010). The Stronger the Union, The Safer the Mine: How to Use Convention No. 176, A Campaign Guide. Geneva: International Federation of Cheminal, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions.
- 3. Convention (No. 167) concerning safety and health in construction. Adopted at the 75th Session of the International Labour Conference held on 20 June 1988 in Geneva. 1593 U.N.T.S. 33.
- 4. International Labour Office. 2011. World Congress calls for a renewed commitment to build a preventative safety and health culture. Press Release, September 15. Accessed online at http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/press-and-media-centre/news/WCMS_162921/lang--en/index.htm.
- 5. Istanbul Declaration on Safety and Health at Work. 2011. Signed at Istanbul September 11, during the World Congress on Occupational Safety and Health. Described in Hilgert, Jeffrey. 2012. "The Future of Workplace Health and Safety as a Fundamental Human Right" in Comparative Labour Law and Policy Journal. 34:715.
- 6. Convention (No. 155) concerning occupational safety and health and the working environment. Adopted at the 67th Session of the International Labour Conference held on 22 June 1981. 1331 U.N.T.S. 22345.
- 7. NSNBC International. 2014. Private Turkish Mines Known As Death Traps. International Edition. Online at nsnbc.me/2014/05/15/private-turkish-mines-known-as-death-traps/
- 8. Evyapan, Fatma. 2015. Coal Mining in Turkey: State and Private Sector Interactions Subcontracting and Redevance. Turkish Thoracic Journal, 16(Supplement 1):3-4.
- 9. Atalay, Figen. 2015 The History of the Coal Mining Industry and Mining Accidents in the World and Turkey. Turkish Thoracic Journal, 16(Suppl 1):5-8.
- 10. International Labour Office. 2015. World OSH Day Celebrated in Turkey for the First Time. Press
- ISSN: 2146-0809
- Başlangıç: 2002
- Yayıncı: Yalova Üniversitesi
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