At least 1,022 workers die in Turkey in first seven months of 2024

Duvar English

Turkey’s Assembly for Worker Health and Safety (İSİG) on Aug. 6 announced that 1,022 workers were killed in workplace accidents from January to July.

According to the report, there were at least 144 workspace homicides in July alone. Twenty-three percent of deaths were recorded as traffic accidents, 19 percent as crushing or cave-ins, and 13 percent as falls from height.

"This month, seasonal agricultural worker deaths are prominent. Workers transported to fields in tractors closed trucks, and unsuitable service vehicles are dying or getting injured on the roads. Workers, especially, face issues with housing and nutrition," the assembly underscored.

By sector, 50% of deaths occurred in manufacturing, 41% in agriculture, 27% in services, and 26% in construction.

The report also drew attention to the "invisible" deaths in the service sector and particularly to the suicides of employees due to mobbing.

In July, two children aged 14 and under, 10 children aged 15-17, 62 workers aged 30-49, 31 workers aged 50-64, six workers aged 65 and over, and eight workers of unknown age died.

The report drew attention to the number of child workers who were killed while working within the scope of state-run Vocational Training Centers (MESEM). In the 2023-2024 school year, nine children were killed while working under a MESEM program.

In January, at least 161 workers died in workplace accidents; in February, at least 149; in March, at least 124; in April, at least 165; in May, at least 142; in June, at least 137; and in July, 144 workers died in workplace accidents.