A total of 164 people died in workplace accidents in Turkey in November, bringing the death toll for the first 11 months of 2024 to 1,708, according to a monthly report prepared by the Health and Safety Labor Watch (İSİG).
Seven minors were among the reported work-related fatalities.
Construction was the leading sector to record fatalities among workplace accidents, representing 25 percent of the deaths. Transportation was second, with 14 percent, followed by the metal industry, with 8 percent.
The most frequent cause of death was traffic accidents, which accounted for 19 percent of all workplace deaths, while falling from a height represented 18 percent and crush accidents accounted for 15 percent.
İSİG records the number of workers who die due to a lack of workplace safety and conducts campaigns for better workplace safety measures.
Lax work safety standards have been a significant cause of concern for decades in Turkey, where workplace accidents are a nearly daily occurrence. İSİG reported nearly 2,000 work-related deaths in 2023.
According to İSİG, more than 30,000 deaths as a result of occupational accidents have been reported since the Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in November 2002.
İSİG General Coordinator Murat Çakır earlier said the reason for the large number of fatalities in work-related accidents has to do with the policies of the AKP, which he said aim to turn Turkey into a source of cheap labor for Europe.
According to Çakır, workers feel obliged to work under unsafe conditions, fearing that they will otherwise be unable to support their family.
A yearly report on labor rights produced by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) revealed that Turkey is one of the 10 worst countries in the world for workers in industrial sectors. According to the Brussels-based ITUC, workers’ freedoms and rights have further declined since police crackdowns on protests in Turkey in 2023.
