‘319 Child Workers Lost Their Lives Since 2013’

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Ankara Laborers’ Health and Occupational Safety (İSİG) Assembly has shared its report about the stage where child labor in Turkey has come, government policies and occupational juvenile homicides with the occasion of June 12, the World Day Against Child Labor.

Ankara İSİG Assembly stated that there are over 2 million child workers, according to the unofficial data.

According to the report, 319 child workers lost their lives in occupational homicides from the beginning of 2013 to the first five months of 2018. The report stressed that the state doesn’t share the data of child labor openly and abstains from inspections concerning child labor, and drew attention to impunity.

Highest number of occupational homicides occurred in Adana, Urfa and Antep

Adana, Urfa and Antep are the cities where the highest number of children lost their lives in occupational homicides. These cities are also the cities where refugees are highly populated. 24 children lost their lives in Adana; 19 in Urfa; 18 in Antep; 15 in İstanbul and 14 in Konya.

29 of the 319 children were refugee/immigrant, 16 percent were girl

"A 10-year-old Syrian child whose name we couldn’t learn fell to the road from metrobus stop while he or she was selling handkerchief. The child crashed by the metrobus lost his or her life".

* 29 of the 319 children who lost their lives in occupational homicides were refugee/immigrant.

* The rate of girls who lost their lives in occupational homicides is 16 percent, which is greater than women workers who lost their lives in occupational homicides.

The assembly also demanded that child labor be prohibited. (BK/TK)