At least 164 workers lost their lives in workplace-related incidents in Turkey in June, according to the monthly report released by the Health and Safety Labor Watch (İSİG).
The number of workplace fatalities in the first six months of 2025 reached 961. The monthly death tolls included 180 in January, 124 in February, 159 in March, 156 in April, and 178 in May.
Industry accounted for the highest number of deaths in June, with 47 fatalities, followed by construction (40), services (39), and agriculture (38).
Common causes of death varied by sector. In construction, falls from height led the list; in transportation, fatal traffic accidents involved truck, taxi, and motorcycle delivery drivers. Farmers and livestock workers were affected by Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever. Crushing incidents occurred in the metal industry, while collapses were reported in mining.
Children, women and migrants
At least four child workers died in June, including one under the age of 14 and three aged 15–17. Three were employed in agriculture and one in the metal sector. A significant number of the deceased, 33 workers, were aged 50 to 64, while 15 were 65 or older.
Fifteen of those killed were women, working in agriculture, food production, education, health, hospitality, and general services.
The report also recorded the deaths of at least five migrant workers, four from Syria and one from Afghanistan. They were employed in agriculture, food processing, mining, and construction.
Only three of the deceased were union members, making up just 1.82 percent of the total. The remaining 161 workers (98.18%) were not affiliated with any union. The unionized workers were employed in the chemical and municipal sectors.
Comparison with Europe
Turkey continues to report one of the highest rates of occupational fatalities in Europe and globally. According to İSİG, 1,897 workers died in job-related incidents in 2024.
By comparison, Eurostat data shows that all 27 EU countries combined recorded 3,347 fatal occupational accidents in the most recent reporting year, with a combined population of nearly 450 million before Bulgaria and Romania joined.
Specific incidents
İSİG’s June report also recalled several notable cases of fatal workplace accidents, including elderly workers who were forced to continue working in insecure jobs due to inadequate pensions.
Zeki Aldemir, 75, collapsed at a taxi station in İzmir’s Karşıyaka district, where he worked as a dispatcher.
Selami Şimşek, 71, died after falling from the sixth floor of a construction site in Yozgat’s Sarıkaya district.
Abdullah Çolak, 67, was found dead in his chair at a factory guard booth in Tekirdağ’s Ergene Leather Industrial Zone.
Latif Usta, 66, died in Düzce’s Gölyaka district when a tree he was cutting fell on him.
The report also highlighted child labor deaths as one of the most severe forms of labor exploitation.
Davut Bozan, a 14-year-old seasonal agricultural worker from Syria, drowned while swimming in a reservoir in Gaziantep’s İslahiye district.
Yusuf Akdeniz, 16, was crushed under a tractor on the way to his fields in Manisa’s Selendi district.
Ahmet Ay, 17, a seasonal worker from Şanlıurfa, drowned in a 3-meter-deep irrigation pool in Isparta’s Uluborlu district.
Turhan Karabulut, 16, a vocational high school student, died during his internship when his neck was caught in a tractor's hydraulic arm in Isparta.
The report also documented underreported fatal incidents involving women workers.
Naciye Aktaş, 57, died when a three-wheeled electric motorcycle overturned while transporting women returning from grape leaf picking in Manisa.
Betül Dilek, 44, died from electric shock at a food factory in Balıkesir, reportedly due to a faulty circuit breaker.
M.D., 28, a security guard at Kütahya City Hospital—operated under a public-private partnership—took her own life following months of unpaid wages, mobbing, and forced overtime.
Sedef Ateş, 50, fell from the fourth floor while cleaning windows at a home in Şanlıurfa’s Birecik district. She was a day laborer from Nizip.
Havane, 46, drowned in the pool of a luxury villa in Denizli while working as a cleaner. She had traveled from Tavas to work for the day.
(HA/VK)
