How has white goods giant Vestel's factory become an outbreak center in Manisa?

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We have spoken with Manisa Medical Chamber Chair Dr. Şahut Duran about the increasing Covid-19 cases in the city's Organized Industrial Zone (OIZ), especially in the factory of Vestel, one of the largest white goods and electronics companies in the country.

Vestel fired its workplace doctor on the allegation of "leaking company information" and a legal process is underway, he said.

Saying that Covid-19 cases have been increasing since the reopening steps at the start of June, he noted that Manisa Governor's Office has started directly inspecting the Vestel factory after media reports and public criticism.

The Turkish Medical Association (TTB) also visited the city to examine the claims and has prepared a report about the situation.

Virus cases have been on the increase all across the OIZ and several factories previously suspended production because of that, Duran said.

"Since the start of the pandemic, we have been calling for the disclosure of the numbers, stronger quarantine of areas where the disease is widespread, for good management of the process and transparency.

"After June 1, we have tried to draw attention to contact tracing works at the governorate's provincial coordination meetings.

"However, controls in all areas have been loosened after the normalization process. The number of workers, which was reduced because of the pandemic, was increased. There was rapid recruitment of workers and this was done without any screening, only by measuring their body temperature at the entrance of factories."

Production lines and contact between workers

"As we always say, fever may not occur in this disease. There are also carriers, that is, workers who have the disease silently. The spread is also getting faster. Because no matter how many measures you take in factories, there is contact in some factories.

"There is the production line method and everyone touches that in one way or another. Gloves are used but there was some negligence.

"We have learned that the numbers were increasing after June 1 from both workers who apply to the hospital stating where they work and the workers reaching us through the platforms they established to make their voice heard.

"There were deaths and the numbers announced by the management and employees were different. These contradicting statements made the situation more ambiguous."

Patients were allegedly sent to other cities to hide numbers

"According to its own statements, Vestel has 19,000 employees and this number amounts to one-third of the OIZ. There are statements by workers that measures were stepped up following increasing reactions after the process was reported in the media.

"However, there are also allegations that some cases were sent to other cities to hide the numbers, although there were empty intensive care beds in Manisa.

"We don't know what is happening inside right now, but we know that the governor's office has directly intervened in and is monitoring the process. There is no healthy information flow because factories display a more defensive attitude."

TTB: Workers were prevented from applying to hospitals

Citing Vestel workers, the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) said in its report that the company had prevented its employees, who eventually tested positive for Covid-19, from applying to the hospital for one week.

About 1,000 Vestel workers were infected with Covid-19 and eight of them died, it stated.

Vestel worked in two 12-hour shifts while other factories in the OIZ had a three-shift system, the association also noted, saying that this means more workers work at the same time in the factory.

"While 100 to 200 workers are working in a shift in some factories, Vestel can have 1500 workers in one shift," it said, adding that 60 percent of the worker shuttles come from the neighboring İzmir province.

Two workers use one locker in changing rooms, which makes it impossible to follow distancing rules, it said.

While some factories give workers five masks a week, some give two cloth masks in a month, the report also noted.

The factors that have triggered the outbreak in the Manisa OIZ and Vestel should be evaluated both in terms of deficiencies in precautionary measures and the production process itself, which provides a suitable environment for infection, according to the TTB.

Recommendations by the Medical Association

The association made the following recommendations to curb the spread of the virus:

* Shifts should be reduced from 12 hours to six hours.

* The number of workers on the same shift should be reduced.

* Workers should be prevented from entering changing rooms in large numbers.

* Not only the management department but all common areas should be disinfected.

* In dining halls, workers should be seated one by one and separators should be placed between them to maintain physical distance.

What happened?

In early August, Manisa Medical Chamber Chair Dr. Şahut Duran pointed out the increasing coronavirus cases in Manisa OIZ, especially in the Vestel factory.

He had said that the number of patients in the city tripled after the reopening in June and there were 1,000 Vestel workers who were infected.

Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DİSK) Chair Arzu Çerkezoğlu also stated that infections in the OIZ increased whereas workers who were in contact with patients were not tested until they showed symptoms.

"Instead of taking measures for the outbreak, the employer removes break times of workers, who work side by side. It invents a virus that isn't transmitted while working but is transmitted while having a break," she had noted. (TP/VK)