Worker fatalities soar in Kurdistan: Union presses safety protocols

Shafaq News – Al-Sulaymaniyah

At least 54 construction workers have died on the job across Iraqi Kurdistan and disputed territories between Baghdad and Erbil since the start of 2025, the Construction Workers’ Union in al-Sulaymaniyah reported on Saturday.

Fatalities have risen steadily over the past three years—from 41 in 2022 to 52 in 2023—with the latest incident occurring on Friday when an Iranian laborer was killed and another injured in a rooftop explosion triggered by flammable materials near a fuel tank in al-Sulaymaniyah’s University neighborhood.

Speaking at a press conference, union representative Osman Hama Saeed blamed the contractor for failing to provide safety equipment, warning that preventable deaths persist “year after year” due to systemic negligence and the lack of regulatory oversight.

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Iraq’s Labor Code (Act No. 71 of 1987) and the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) Manual require employers to supply protective gear and ensure safe conditions, yet only 1–2% of construction sites reportedly maintain functional safety committees.

The union called on government bodies and private developers to enforce safety protocols and stem the growing number of fatalities in the Kurdistan Region’s expanding construction sector.