We must change our nonpecuniary damage law

After a recent elevator accident in which 10 people died, the subject of work safety has been discussed out loud in Turkey. We do speak, but unfortunately we forget what we speak, and to start speaking again, another terrific accident must happen.

It is already too late to take further safety measures for “work accidents,” which we must call “murder” due to their misconduct and frequency, however.

Work safety is a basic subject of inspection, and application of the results of the inspections. There are thousands of work places where works deemed “risky” are conducted. Works with dangerous chemicals, on high-rise buildings, in underground mines, on docks and other works conducted with sharp and piercing materials…

Tens of thousands of these places are inspected, and their faults and dangers are later controlled by only a few thousand inspectors. This is an impossible job.

Of course, work inspectors perform an important job, but it isn’t easy for them to change every risky work environment in the country. The work safety inspections and controls should be bolstered by factors other than work inspectors.

There are “work safety agencies.” They are corporations themselves. Other companies hire these agencies, and they allegedly inspect and control work safety measures. It has been confirmed that this system does not work due to its inadequacy, and it also causes a balance of interests. The most important point of work safety should be a clash of interests between the inspector and the inspected.

With a bill enacted at the start of the year, the Undersecretariat of Treasury mandated that working places with risky jobs have obligatory assurance. It is a useful precaution. The assurance company must...