A total of 177 people died in workplace accidents in Turkey in January, according to a monthly report prepared by the Health and Safety Labor Watch (İSİG).
Five minors were among the reported work-related fatalities.
Construction was the leading sector to record fatalities in workplace accidents, representing 24 percent of the deaths. Transportation was second, with 16 percent, followed by the hotel industry with 10 percent.
The most frequent cause of death was traffic accidents, which accounted for 29 percent of all workplace deaths, while crush accidents represented 14 percent and falling from a height accounted for 13 percent.
A major incident drew attention the issue of workplace safety this month. A devastating fire occurred at the Grand Kartal Hotel in the ski resort of Kartalkaya in northwestern Turkey on January 19, leaving 78 dead and 50 others injured.
Among the casualties were four hotel employees: 24-year-old nurse Dilara Ermanoğlu, chef Eslem Uyanık, 25-year-old chef Esra Nazik and 25-year-old waiter Şevval Şahin.
In a statement following the fire, the Ankara Chamber of Architects said there were safety failures on multiple levels at the hotel.
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 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.
İSİG began to record occupational fatalities in 2011. The group records the number of workers who die due to the lack of workplace safety and campaigns for stricter workplace safety measures.
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 2024.
