Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

There have been quite a number of serious mining accidents in Turkey. Since 1983 there have been 600 accidents. In the past 73 years there have been over 3,000. Everybody is entitled to safe working conditions and anyone going out to work should have an expectation that he or she will go home that night, but Turkey's record has been appalling. There are many positives in the Minister of State's answer, but much will hinge on the ILO conference in June. I hope our Government representatives will press the Turkish Government to ratify the ILO convention and implement it within its national legislation. This is part of the larger issue of decent working conditions. We saw the appalling accident in Bangladesh, while peasant farmers growing food on their land are under threat from multinational companies and mining organisations. This is all part of the bigger picture. Workers' rights need to be recognised.

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