Economics and Law Journal

Primary Language
: TR
  • Alper Mert
  • Hakan Tüzün
  • Mustafa Necmi İlhan
  • Meral Saygun
Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Perceptions and Attitudes in Cargo Sector Employees Continuing to Service During the COVID-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT

The trend towards online shopping is gaining momentum with the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the working conditions of cargo sector employees. This research was conducted by applying an online questionnaire to 469 union-member cargo sector employees to determine the changes in working conditions and their perceptions and attitudes towards the pandemic. The hypotheses established within the scope of the research questions were tested with the Chi- Square test. The survey results showed an increase in the working hours of the cargo sector employees (64%) and the number of people they served (83%). It has been determined that while hygiene, mask usage, and social distance measures were generally applied in workplaces, measures such as regulating working hours and keeping the number of employees at a minimum level still needed to be implemented. 70% of the respondents received OHS training during the pandemic. Gender, age groups, education level, job description in the workplace, and OHS education level do not make any difference in using PPE. It has been determined that the most important contributions of OHS training are practicing social distancing with colleagues, using the mask by hygiene rules, and learning the differences between masks. There is a higher rate of thought that the pandemic is carried out successfully in terms of OHS in those who receive OHS training. As a result, cargo sector employees stated that the pandemic adversely affected their workload, work stress, and health risks. However, they also thought these risks were eliminated with OHS measures.
Keywords : Cargo workers, OHS, COVID-19 pandemic

EXTENDED SUMMARY

Travel restrictions due to COVID-19 have directed people to more online shopping, and as a result, an unpredictable density has been experienced in the cargo sector.

This study aims to determine the changes in OHS practices related to cargo workers who continue working throughout the pandemic and have a very high potential to contact different people in different regions and their perceptions and attitudes regarding pandemic measures, vaccines, changes in working life, and occupational risks.

Within the scope of the study, an online survey was conducted with 469 cargo employees who are union members. The hypotheses established for the research questions were tested with the Chi-Square test, which examines whether two categorical variables are independent in influencing the test statistic.

The survey results showed an increase in the working hours of cargo workers and the number of people served (or cargo delivered).

It has been determined that OHS measures that do not burden the employer and will not disrupt the workflow were applied, but measures that may slow down or disrupt the service were not implemented.

It was determined that most respondents (70.1%) received OHS training during the pandemic. It has been revealed that the most important contributions of OHS education are; paying attention to social distancing with colleagues, using masks by hygiene rules, and learning the differences between mask types. In addition, those who received OHS training during the pandemic think that this period has been successfully carried out in terms of OHS. Also, most survey participants (47.2%) state that hygiene and social distance measures are followed when employees are together.

Cargo workers who do not want to be vaccinated are not afraid of contracting COVID-19. This situation can be explained by the belief that “the vaccine is considered useless due to the harmless nature of COVID-19”, which is among the factors that negatively affect the vaccine approach of the society in the literature or the thought that the disease is transmitted somehow, no matter how many precautions are taken.

In the first shutdown (March 2020-June 2020), the rate of cargo workers (33.7%) who felt performance pressure is higher than in other periods in the pandemic. This outcome supports the studies that reveal that consumer habits have changed in the form of e-commerce and home ordering during the pandemic.

As a result, cargo employees stated that the pandemic adversely affected their workload, work stress, and health risks. However, they also thought that these risks were eliminated as much as possible with OHS precautions.

It is recommended to cooperate with distribution by optimizing routes, expanding contactless delivery practices, and determining OHS measures by considering sectoral and spatial variables at the highest level to minimize cargo workers’ contamination risk.

In addition, the studies of international organizations such as the International Labor Organization, the World Health Organization, and the European Union to determine the relation of COVID-19 with work should be followed regularly, and necessary regulations should be made in national legislation.

Covıd-19 Pandemisinde Hizmete Devam Eden Kargo Sektörü Çalışanlarında İşçi Sağlığı ve İş Güvenliği (İSİG) Algısı ve Tutumları

ÖZ

İnternet alışverişine olan eğilim COVID-19 salgını ile ivme kazanmış ve bu durum kargo sektörü çalışanlarının çalışma koşullarını etkilemiştir. Çalışma şartlarındaki değişikliklerin ve çalışanların pandemi sürecine ilişkin algı ve tutumlarının belirlenebilmesine yönelik yapılan bu çalışma kapsamında sendika üyesi 469 kargo çalışanı ile çevrimiçi anket gerçekleştirilmiştir. Araştırma soruları kapsamında kurulan hipotezler, istatistiki yöntemlerle test edilmiştir. Anket sonuçları, pandemi döneminde kargo sektöründe çalışanların çalışma sürelerinde (%64) ve hizmet verdiği insan sayısında (%83) artış olduğunu göstermiştir. İş yerlerinde temizlik, maske ve mesafe önlemlerinin büyük oranda uygulandığı ancak mesai saatlerinin düzenlenmesi, çalışan sayısının asgari seviyede tutulması vb. tedbirlere başvurulmadığı belirlenmiştir. Ankete katılanların %70’i pandemi döneminde İSİG eğitimi almıştır. KKD kullanımı cinsiyet, yaş grupları, eğitim durumu, iş yerindeki görev ve İSİG eğitim durumuna göre farklılık göstermemektedir. İSİG eğitiminin en önemli katkıları; çalışma arkadaşları ile sosyal mesafe uygulamaya özen gösterme, maskenin hijyen kurallarına uygun kullanımı ve maske türleri arasındaki farkları öğrenme konularındadır. İSİG eğitimi alanlar, pandemi döneminin İSİG açısından daha başarılı yürütüldüğünü düşünmektedir. Sonuç olarak kargo çalışanları iş yükü, çalışma stresi, sağlık riskleri vb. birçok açıdan pandemiden olumsuz anlamda etkilendiklerini ancak alınan İSİG önlemleri ve genel tedbirler ile bu risklerin bertaraf edildiğini düşündükleri tespit edilmiştir.
Anahtar Kelimeler : ÖZKargo çalışanları, İSİG, COVID-19 pandemisi

Cite This Article

APA
MERT, A., & TÜZÜN, H., & İLHAN, M., & SAYGUN, M., & . ( 2023). Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Perceptions and Attitudes in Cargo Sector Employees Continuing to Service During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Çalışma ve Toplum, 2(77), 1353-1378. https://doi.org/10.54752/ct.1266876