Ministry 'doesn't know' number of child workers in Turkey

Photo: UNICEF

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Minister of Family and Social Services Derya Yanık has responded to a parliamentary question by main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy Ömer Fethi Gürer about whether the ministry is working to eliminate child labor.

Gürer had asked the following questions to the minister:

Do you have findings about the number of children working informally?

What is the age limit for child workers in Turkey?

Is there any work to completely eliminate child labor through legal inspections and deterrent penal sanctions?

The ministry's program

In her response, Minister Tanık said they continue to provide services to protect children who are forced to work on the streets from risks and to support their families.

The ministry set up the "National Program for Combating Child Labor" and acts with the principle of "zero tolerance for child labor," said Yanık.

Recalling that they had declared 2018 the Year for Combating Child Labor, the minister said, "A joint declaration was signed with all parties of the working life and works continue in cooperation and coordination."

The ministry has set up "mobile teams" in all 81 provinces and supports children and families through the Social and Economic Support (SED) service and the Foundations of Social Assistance and Solidarity.

Also, families are provided with guidance services and legal action is taken against families and children are taken into institutional care in necessary situations, noted Yanık.

There are 16 million children in Turkey

The minister did not respond to the questions about the number of children working informally and the age limit for child workers.

MP Gürer criticized the ministry, saying that its works are "on paper."

The number of children in the country aged between 5 and 17 is estimated at 16 million 457 thousand, noted the MP.

The minister's response showed its inability to solve the child labor problem, he said. (HA/VK)