ANKARA
A Turkish MP from the country’s main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) criticized the government's negligence regarding coal mines despite several opposition warnings, as the reverberations from the Soma mining disaster continue.
Speaking at a press conference, Monday, Safak Pavey said "We proposed several parliamentary questions. We have given several speeches, but the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party did not pay attention."
According to Pavey, 276 workers died in the first three months of 2014 and 1,235 workers died in 2013 as a result of workplace accidents.
The Soma mining disaster indicates that any warnings from the Council of Europe about health and safety at work have not been taken into consideration, said Pavey, adding that Turkey has also not complied with the agreements of the International Labor Organization.
The mining disaster in the town of Soma, western Turkey, in which 301 miners died, has surpassed the death toll of a firedamp explosion in 1992 in the mining town of Zonguldak on Turkey's Black Sea coast, in which 263 miners died.
More than thirty people were detained and eight were arrested in the investigation into the mine disaster so far.
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