KIB-TEK transformer explosion and agricultural accident spark safety concerns

The Cyprus Occupational Health and Safety Experts Union (İSG-BİR) has stated that two recent workplace accidents involving serious injuries could have been prevented with proper safety measures. The incidents occurred on October 1, involving a transformer explosion at the Cyprus Turkish Electricity Authority (KIB-TEK) in Nicosia and a separate accident in the agricultural sector where a worker was caught in a baler machine.

Both injured workers were reported to be in intensive care as of October 3. İSG-BİR emphasized that safety requires more than just employee training; it necessitates the provision of appropriate equipment, tools, and personal protective gear. The union called on the Ministry of Labor and Social Security to increase inspections and establish an Occupational Health and Safety Unit within the Labor Department.

Following the KIB-TEK explosion, KIB-TEK Chairman Gürsel Uzun addressed allegations regarding safety deficiencies and bribery claims related to a scrap cable tender. While Uzun denied the bribery allegations and announced legal action against a local newspaper and the El-Sen union leader, the El-Sen union maintains that safety warnings were ignored and that necessary protective equipment tenders had been canceled.