At least 1,409 workers die on job in Turkey in first nine months

Duvar English

The Workers' Health and Work Safety Assembly (İSİG) has said that the number of workers who died while on the job in Turkey in the first nine months of 2023 was 1,409.

Of these deaths, 151 occurred in September, the organization said in its report. This figure was 116 for January, 195 for February, 130 for March, 124 for April, 146 for May, 161 for June, 183 for July, and 203 for August.

The highest number of deaths occurred in the construction sector, with 261 workers losing their lives in the January-September 2023 period. More than half of the deaths in the construction sector were caused by falling from height.

The agriculture and forestry sector followed the construction sector with 259 deaths. After that came the transportation sector with 171 deaths and the housing sector with 111 deaths.

Children were also among the workers that died. In the first nine months of this year, at least 21 child workers under the age of 14 have lost their lives, while 23 child workers between the ages of 15-17 died.

The most common cause of work-related deaths was traffic accidents, which claimed 345 lives. It was followed by the reason of being crushed by heavy equipment, with 213 workers. Other instances included being electrically shocked, falling from heights, and suffering from heart attacks.

There were 75 refugees/migrants among the workers who lost their lives in the relevant period.

95.75%, 1,349, of those who lost their lives while on the job were non-unionized workers.