Globalisation, Occupational Disease and Workers’ Abuse in Turkey:A Case Cluster Study Analysis

Abstract

In the globalized world, occupational health problems continue to appear in the working environment, while new health problems are also being discovered mainly due to low-quality jobs with minimal chance for advancement, precarious employment conditions, high production quotas as well as weak national regulations and lack of monitoring by the state actors. For instance, Turkish legal framework on the protection of the health and safety of employees has significant shortcomings hampering workers’ enjoyment of their “rights-to-work”. This article analyses a case cluster study conducted on workers in export processing zones (EPZs) who were exposed to subdued employment conditions in their workplaces and abandoned to their own fates subsequent to dismissals by their employers due to their diagnosis of occupational diseases by the occupational health specialists.

Keywords: Developing countries, Occupational Health and Safety, Dismissals, Legal Enforcement, Labour Rights, Human Rights, Multinational Companies, Turkey, Export Processing Zones, Turkey