Middlemen thwart mine closures, Turkish labor minister says after disaster

Labor Minister Faruk Çelik expresses his exasperation at mining safety in Turkey, suggesting efforts to improve conditions are being blocked by a coterie of interests Turkish Labor Minister Faruk Çelik has admitted that the state is having trouble in closing down mines under bad conditions, implying that local nepotism was hampering efforts.

“This pain is unbearable,” Çelik told journalists in Ermenek, the small town in the Central Anatolian province of Karaman where efforts were desperately continuing to pull out 18 workers trapped 375 meters below the ground at a mine that filled with underground water on Oct. 28.

“It is time we find a solution to this problem. Whenever we attempt to close a mine, the employer brings in 50 people to mediate. This responsibility is on all of us,” he added.

The government attempted to close down many unsafe mines following a mine disaster in the Aegean town of Soma, which was the site of Turkey's largest ever industrial disaster in May, killing 301.

However, many mines, including the Ermenek mine, were reopened after little improvement.

Speaking to daily Vatan, Çelik said the Labor Ministry is responsible for inspections but the real problem is about licensing small mines, which are poor in both safety conditions and production capacity.

He said employers were avoiding investing in small mines, which are about to expire, and try to cut costs by bypassing safety requirements.

“I think such mines should be shut down,” he said, adding that the same problems of nepotism are also present in the construction sector. 

Çelik was among a team that went underground for inspections after the incident. “I will speak bluntly...