VI. Symposium on Problems and Solution Proposals in Occupational Health and Safety in Turkey

Why is 'Digitalization', the main theme of the symposium, important? Why do we need to self-critique on this issue? Why is it necessary not to be disturbed by self-criticism or criticism? 100 years ago, during the Constitutional Monarchy period, one of the most important discussions of the Constitutional Monarchy at that time was the question of whether opposition was necessary. Then an Islamic scholar says: "Opposition is an element of the balance of justice." That is a tremendous finding. A sentence spoken 100 years ago. Meaning, opposition ensures the balance of justice. Europe saw this after World War II, after Hitler emerged.
My ancestors have a saying. It is the saying of an Ottoman pasha: "A country is either governed by knowledge or by oppression." It is governed either by knowledge or by oppression, by fear. What did Hitler do? Let's consider the whole of Germany. A geography that produced Hegels, philosophers. It produced many philosophers. Germany also produced Hitler. Europe, which achieved transformation, produced people like Goethe, for example. But on the other hand, you think about why it produced Hitler. As someone with a psychiatry background, I researched the reasons for this. The findings that emerged were as follows: If a society lacks freedom, free negotiation, open discussion, opposition, and self-criticism, the reptilian, primitive brain of that society comes into play. When this happens, by taking refuge in its strength and feeling secure, it starts to do nothing. This is what happens in societies governed by fear. In authoritarian, dictatorial, and oppressive societies, people are afraid and find themselves in crisis.

The culture of criticism is very important in the development of countries and societies. I wanted to engage in self-criticism in this field, starting from the recent Bartın disaster. Self-criticism is a requirement of our culture. That is, we need to progress with knowledge, not with oppression.
We have created a very good health system. Our Deputy Minister of Health, who is currently the Deputy Minister, made a great contribution by initiating the E-Pulse application in the 2000s. Within the E-Pulse system, every medication, every pharmacy, where, how it was dispensed is now tracked. The health system has accelerated greatly, despite the increase in public demand. We all know the difficulties experienced in healthcare in the past. Despite the demand and cost, digitalization has provided tremendous added value to this field.
It was necessary to implement this digitalization in our lives after the mining accident on May 13, 2014, in the Soma district of Manisa province, Turkey, which resulted in the deaths of 301 miners due to a fire in a coal mine. We didn't do it then, we couldn't do it. I say let's do self-criticism. That's why our ministry must definitely do some self-criticism on this issue.
The word 'crisis' has two meanings; the first is threat, danger, and the second is opportunity. In the Bartın incident, the state is resolving this crisis in the best way, helping all families, yes, it is taking care of them, we are successful in crisis resolution, that's true... But we need to show the same success in crisis prevention. For this, a digital system needs to be established that monitors at what depth in the coal mine, any pressure change in the gas, where and how methane gas accumulates, like a clock.
When this system is established and operated flawlessly, in case of a possible risk or danger, the occupational health and safety specialist there cannot make a mistake. This established system also minimizes human errors. For this reason, in many professions in the future, the digital system will reach such a point that after a while, we will do these lessons in the metaverse. We will join our meetings with our avatars. We will talk as if we are talking here, we will see as if we are seeing. In ten years, many educational systems will be like this. That is, the world is heading in this direction, and our ministry should accelerate in this direction. Let the necessary budgets be allocated and let the mines be saved from this problem. Hopefully, this will be evaluated as an opportunity, not a danger.
May our people, mothers, fathers, or spouses not experience the same pain again. When women send their husbands to the mine, they send them with more peace of mind. I even came across a very meaningful and sad cartoon. The wife asks her husband, who is going to the mine, 'What should I make for dinner tonight?' He says, 'If I return, make stuffed vegetables, if I don't, make helva.' People should not leave their homes for work with these feelings and thoughts.
Scientific meetings like this and their outputs will shed light on the improvement of systems. They should be taken seriously. We know our ministry's work on this issue, but we want them to give a little more importance.
We can say that the occupational health and safety service is not yet on track. It's not even clear if it's an engineering field or not! In our country, Occupational Health and Safety can be provided through distance education. This cannot be! Occupational Health and Safety training that lacks practical application should not be given remotely, it should be removed from open learning.

 Publication Date: 2023

ISBN: 978-605-9596-74-9

Number of copies: 1st Edition

Language: Turkish

Number of pages: 152

Publisher: Üsküdar University Publications -71