At least 169 workers died in workplace accidents across Turkey in October, according to a monthly report by the Health and Safety Labor Watch (İSİG), bringing the total number of workplace deaths in 2025 to date to 1,737.
Among the victims 12 were women and eight were minors, including one aged 9, while seven were refugees or migrants from Syria (3), Azerbaijan (1), Egypt (1), Turkmenistan (1) and Ukraine (1).
The agriculture and forestry sector accounted for the largest share of fatalities, representing 27 percent of all workplace deaths. It was followed by construction with 25 percent and agriculture with 15 percent.
The leading causes of death were crushing incidents, which accounted for 23 percent of all deaths, traffic accidents with 20 percent and falling from heights, 17 percent.
İstanbul recorded the highest number of fatalities with 19 deaths, followed by Mersin (10) and Ankara (9).
İSİG reported 1,897 work-related deaths in 2024.
Since 2011 the group has been tracking occupational fatalities and advocating for stricter workplace safety measures.
Workplace accidents remain a chronic problem in Turkey, where lax enforcement of occupational health and safety standards continues to cost lives.
Turkey made progress in aligning its occupational health and safety legislation with European Union standards, after it became an EU candidate country in 1999, and also ratified the relevant International Labour Organization conventions in 2005. However, implementation and enforcement of these standards have been far less effective. In recent years an influx of migrants and growing economic instability have further undermined workplace safety, as investments in safety measures declined and informal employment increased.
According to İSİG data, nearly 35,000 workers have died in workplace accidents since the Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in November 2002.
Turkey’s poor record on labor rights has also been highlighted internationally. A yearly report produced by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) on labor rights 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 been further denied since police crackdowns on protests in Turkey in 2025, while strikes and attempts to unionize were prevented by authorities.
