“Lack of oversight is at an extreme level. Due to AKP’s neoliberal economic policies, more children are being pushed into child labor every day,” Health and Safety Labor Watch (İSİG) warned on June 12, World Day Against Child Labor.
İSİG emphasized that child labor is deepening in Turkey and that children are systematically exploited. The report also called attention to the need for children to be in school, playing, exploring, and developing both mentally and physically in a safe environment.
According to İSİG, “In recent years, children have increasingly been turned into workers under the labels of student, apprentice, or intern – often by the state – due to deepening poverty.” It estimated that between 60 and 70 child workers die annually in work-related incidents, with thousands more suffering injuries, amputations, and psychological or developmental harm that often go unreported.
While official data paints a misleading picture as if “there is no child labor in Turkey,” İSİG warned that this issue is deliberately rendered invisible.
Their year-by-year figures for child worker deaths are as follows:
- 2013: 59
- 2014: 54
- 2015: 63
- 2016: 56
- 2017: 60
- 2018: 67
- 2019: 67
- 2020: 67
- 2021: 62
- 2022: 62
- 2023: 54
- 2024: 71
- 2025 (first 5 months): 28
Many deaths go uncounted
İSİG noted that 90% of these figures were sourced from national media, and 10% from families, coworkers, and local media. They emphasized that these are minimum numbers and the real death toll is likely much higher.
Youngest victims: 5 to 9 years old
Since 2013, 261 children aged 5 to 14 have died in workplace accidents, making up 34% of the total. Of these, at least 53 were aged just 5 to 9. Another 509 child worker deaths were among the 15 to 17 age group.
İSİG criticized the fact that children under 14, legally banned from working, are still being employed, often in hazardous sectors and completely outside regulatory oversight.
Among children aged 5–14 who died, 20% were girls and 12% were migrant children. In the 15–17 age group, 11% were young women and 11% were migrants, most of whom were Syrian.
Unregistered, unsafe, unseen
Nearly all child workers aged 5–14 are unregistered. The majority work in seasonal agriculture, while others are employed in street vending, textile, food, metal workshops, and construction.
For those aged 15–17, seasonal agriculture remains dominant, but increasing numbers are moving into urban sectors like industry, construction, and services. İSİG points to state programs like MESEM and the rapid expansion of organized industrial zones in all 81 provinces as key factors driving this trend. The goal, they argue, is to meet the demand for cheap, underage labor – often uninsured, underpaid, overworked, unionless, and unaware of their rights.
İSİG is calling for a complete ban on child labor and a redesign of vocational education to align with children’s developmental needs and to be carried out within a clear public regulatory framework. The group also demanded free education at all levels and urged for a science-based curriculum that connects meaningfully with life.
(HA/DT)
