At least 226 people died in work-related incidents across Turkey in August, bringing the death toll for the first eight months of 2026 to 1,509, according to a new report by the Health and Safety Labour Watch Turkey (İSİG).
Construction accounted for the highest number of deaths with 68, followed by agriculture and forestry with 58 and transportation with 22. Another 15 workers died in municipal and general services and 12 in commerce, office work, education and cinema.
The victims included 15 minors, four of them aged 14 or younger and 11 between the ages of 15 and 17. Two of the youngsters were working under Turkey’s Vocational Education Centers (MESEM) program, which combines schooling with workplace training.
İSİG said the deaths of child workers were concentrated in the metal, agriculture and construction sectors and called for measures to combat child labor, particularly work carried out under MESEM in urban areas and seasonal agricultural labor in rural areas.
The report, compiled using information from national and local media, workers and their families, unions, workplace doctors and occupational safety experts, also recorded the death of 15 women and 16 migrant workers. The migrant workers comprised seven Syrians, three Afghans, two Georgians, two Uzbeks, one Iranian and one Turkmen.
Traffic and transportation accidents were the leading cause of death, killing 50 workers, followed by falls from heights with 48 deaths and crushing incidents or collapses with 42.
İSİG said traffic-related deaths were especially common in transportation and agriculture, while most fatal falls occurred in construction. The group said long working hours, inadequate vehicle maintenance, aging vehicles and pressure to meet delivery schedules contributed to deaths involving drivers and workers traveling in service vehicles.
Only seven of the 226 workers who died in August, or 3 percent, were union members, while 219 were not unionized, according to the report.
İstanbul recorded the highest number of deaths with 19, followed by Gaziantep with 12 and Ankara and Antalya with 11 each. The group said August marked the fourth consecutive month in which it recorded more than 200 worker deaths, the first time it has seen such a four-month period in 15 years. Updated figures show 214 workers died in May, 228 in June, 216 in July and 226 in August.
İSİG documented 2,105 work-related deaths in 2025, the highest annual total in at least a decade, pointing to persistent problems with workplace safety in Turkey.
Turkey made progress in bringing its occupational health and safety legislation closer to European Union standards after becoming an EU candidate in 1999 and ratified relevant International Labour Organization conventions in 2005. Enforcement of workplace safety rules, however, has remained a significant problem.
Turkey’s record on labor rights has also faced international criticism. The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has ranked Turkey among the world’s 10 worst countries for workers, citing restrictions on union activity, strikes and workers’ rights.
