Öz Sağlık İşçileri Sendikası
Mr. Sert: OHS is a fundamental human right and a global responsibility: OHS at workplace should not be postponed and ignored
Mr. Devlet Sert, President of the Öz Sağlık-İş Trade Union, made a speech at the Occupational Health and Safety in the Workplace Seminar” which organized through the cooperation of the National Committee of Workers’ Committees of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Arab Labour Organization, and the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) on January 25th, 2026.
Our delegation attended 2 international programmes which were the “Occupational Health and Safety in the Workplace” seminar on January 25, 2026 and “Global Labour Market Conference (GLMC)” on January 26-27, 2026 in Riyadh consisted of Mr. Devlet Sert, President of our Union and the Vice-President of the HAK-IS Trade Union Confederation as well as Mr. Muhammet Esat Eyvaz, Vice-President/Executive Board Member, Mr. Adv. İlyas Şeker, Head of our Legal Issues Department and Mr. Uğur Müftüoğlu, Foreign Relations Specialist of our trade union.
Moreover, the executives and other high-level representatives and experts of the Saudi Arabian National Committee of Labour Committees, officials from the Arab Labour Organization, members of the National Council for Occupational Health and Safety of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and high-level representatives and as well as experts from many labour organizations and civil society organizations from various countries have participated into the above-mentioned international programme.
After extending his sincere gratitude to the leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – with which our country, nation and organisation shared invaluable bonds of friendship, brotherhood, faith, culture, and history and to all those who have contributed to the said seminar, Mr. Sert emphasized the fact that our union attached great importance to OHS issues. Plus, he thanked all the participated organisations and their representatives for their valuable contributions, as well as outcomes, and results of the said event which have raised awareness and brought to the discipline of global working life and the world of labour.
Mr. Devlet Sert made clear assessments regarding OHS practices and legal responsibilities in our country and in the health and social services sector in “The Role of Workers’ Unions in Developing a Safety Culture and Mechanisms for Activating Dialogue Between Employers, Workers and State Institutions Session”
Mr. Sert underlined that OHS concerned not only us and the countries represented here, but the entire world. OHS is such an area that could not postponed or delayed, and that could only become truly effective through the timely adoption of all necessary measures all around the world as per his remarks in his speech at the above-mentioned seminar.
The fundamental aim of occupational health and safety is to protect and improve the physical, mental, and social well-being of workers. This is because occupational health and safety practices aim to ensure that employees are able to maintain, at the end of the working process, the same state of health they had before starting work. In line with this objective, the following are among the most fundamental priorities:
- Identifying and reducing risks that may lead to occupational accidents and diseases,
- Preventing occupational accidents and diseases,
- Keeping psycho-social risks under control,
- Ensuring that risk assessments are carried out properly and that preventive measures are taken for both service providers and service recipients,
- Providing adequate occupational health and safety training to both individuals and units,
- In this regard, subjecting high-risk units to tailor-made trainings,
- Ensuring that the working environment as a whole is healthy and safe,
- Taking appropriate personal protective measures.
In this sense, as Türkiye, we approach the issue of occupational health and safety as follows:
- First and foremost, ensuring the protection of workers from hazards that arise or are likely to arise during the execution of work,
- Supporting this protection through systematic and scientific studies,
- Recognizing the necessity of evaluating the rights and responsibilities of both the worker and the institution within a fair and legal framework in the event of potential adverse situations.
Both international regulations such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions and our national legislation have introduced specific arrangements in order to bring our workers under the scope of occupational health and safety.
As I believe you closely follow as well, every year millions of people around the world lose their lives due to occupational accidents and diseases, and hundreds of millions of workers become unable to work as a result of work-related accidents and occupational illnesses.
This situation demonstrates that occupational health and safety is not merely a field that intervenes after accidents and diseases occur; on the contrary, it is a holistic system that aims to prevent health losses by identifying risks in advance.
Therefore, in our view, occupational health and safety is not only a legal obligation; it is also a fundamental human right and a global responsibility.
Occupational health and safety, which entered our lives in the early years of the Turkish Republic in 1920s, has been supported by various legislative arrangements. However, our turning point as a country was the Occupational Health and Safety Law No. 6331, which entered into force in 2012.
Because with this law, our country adopted a proactive and preventive philosophy. The fundamental aim of the law was defined not as paying compensation after accidents and diseases occur, but as ensuring that they never occur in the first place.
The mentioned legal regulation currently in force in our country has assigned clear responsibilities to both employers and employees as followings:
Among the primary obligations of employers are:
- Conducting risk assessments,
- Preparing emergency action plans,
- Providing regular training to employees, and
- Taking all necessary technical and administrative measures to ensure a safe working environment.
Employees, on the other hand, are responsible for:
- Complying with the established rules,
- Participating in relevant training programs, and
- Refraining from endangering their own safety or the safety of other workers.
“TÜRKİYE HAS A STRONG HUMAN RESOURCES CAPACITY IN THE OHS FIELD”
Our country has a significant level of human resources in the field of occupational health and safety. There is a total of 64,145 occupational health and safety experts. In addition, 28,323 workplace physicians and 14,389 other healthcare professionals provide occupational health services. Thus, while our qualified human resources in the field of Occupational Health and Safety continue to grow both in quality and quantity, a total of 106,857 people are employed in this field.
While employees in the health and social services sector provide services aimed at protecting the health and well-being of others, they are exposed to numerous occupational risks, such as:
- Intensive use of pharmaceuticals,
- Working with sharp and piercing instruments,
- Contact with infected tissues and exposure to infectious diseases.
In addition to these, violence and psycho-social risks such as burnout and emotional labour are becoming increasingly prominent in this sector. Therefore, this multidimensional risk structure makes the health and social services sector a special and priority area in terms of occupational health and safety.
From the perspective of trade unions, we do not view occupational health and safety as an area limited solely to technical regulations. This issue is directly related to the right to life and human dignity.
MR. SERT: OHS POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR THE HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES WORKERS ARE NOT A MATTER OF CHOICE, BUT A STRUCTURAL AND ETHICAL NECESSITY
In the health and social services sector, inadequacies in occupational health and safety practices lead to early exit from the profession, chronic health problems, and a decline in the quality of services provided.
For this reason, as trade unions, we play a critical role in:
- Making occupational health and safety one of the core elements of collective bargaining agreements,
- Strengthening employee representation in occupational health and safety committees,
- Recognizing psychosocial risks, and
- Making occupational diseases more visible.
Because we attach great importance to this issue not only in terms of protecting workers, but also in terms of the sustainability of public health. In this context, occupational health and safety in the health and social services sector is not a matter of choice, but a structural and ethical necessity. Trade union organization should therefore be regarded as a fundamental safeguard in putting this necessity into practice…”
Speakers including Mr. Devlet Sert who addressed the audience at the seminar which covered fundamental issues in the field of occupational health and safety with contributions from experts and academics,were presented with plaques by the National Committee of Workers’ Committees of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Our delegation also had the opportunity to hold bilateral meetings with delegations from other countries who were in Saudi Arabia for the above-mentioned seminar.
MR. SERT MET WITH THE TURKISH LABOUR AND SOCIAL SECURITY MINISTER IN RIYADH
Mr. Devlet Sert, President of the Öz Sağlık-İş Union and the Vice-President of the HAK-IS Trade Union Confederation, met with Prof. Dr. Vedat IŞIKHAN which is the Turkish Labour and Social Security Minister on the occassion of 3rd Global Labour Market Conference (GLMC) in Riyadh, the capital city of the Saudi Arabia on January 26-27, 2026.
By emphasizing the great importance of sharing Türkiye’s experiences on industrial relations and working life at various international platforms, Mr. Sert stated that such global events would make significant and tangible contributions in order to improve social dialogue and find common solutions.
VISIT TO TURKISH EMBASSY IN RIYADH
Mr. Devlet Sert, President of the Öz Sağlık-İş Union and the Vice-President of the HAK-IS Trade Union Confederation visited Turkish Embassy in Riyadh and met with Mr. Emrullah İŞLER, who is the Turkish Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. During this visiting programme, current relations between Türkiye and Saudi Arabia and issues on the working life agenda were discussed and assessed.
Additionally, Mr. Sert also shared information about the Occupational Health and Safety Seminar he attended & made a speech in Saudi Arabia on January 25th, 2026 and thanked Mr. İşler for his kind hospitality.
