ISIG Assembly July 2025 Work Killings Report: 204 Workers Lost Their Lives, Heat and Child Labor Cause Deaths

ISTANBUL - The Worker Health and Worker Safety (ISIG) Assembly shared the July 2025 Work Killings Report with the public, revealing once again the frightening extent of worker deaths in Turkey. According to the report, at least 204 workers lost their lives in July alone, while the total number of workplace murders in the first seven months of the year reached 1165. Forest fires, extreme heat and child labor were among the highlights of the report.

Fire Workers and the Bitter Cost of Heat

Unfortunately, forest fires in July claimed the lives of 17 workers. The OSH Assembly pointed to factors such as insufficient budget allocated for fire fighting, lack of equipment, poor forest roads and inadequate personnel as factors that could have prevented these deaths. It was also emphasized that the widespread employment of non-unionized and subcontracted workers, inadequate occupational safety training and lack of protective equipment also triggered these tragedies.

The report revealed that extreme heat was also an important factor in worker deaths, as July was the third hottest month worldwide. It was stated that workers in agriculture, construction and moto courier sectors, who have to work outdoors, are working under life-threatening risks without taking any precautions. The report, which also includes the warnings of the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) Worker Health and Workplace Medicine Branch, stated that extreme heat can lead to fatal consequences such as heart attacks and cerebral hemorrhage.

Child Labor Alarms: 9 Children Died in July

One of the most striking data in the report of the DISIG Assembly is about child labor. It was stated that at least 9 child workers lost their lives while working in July. In the report, the statements of Erhan Afyoncu, the Rector of the National Defense University, and Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş, the Minister of Family Affairs, on the "fertility rate" and the "young population to be conscripted for military service" were linked to the cheap labor of child labor and the need for a young population to die in war.

The report cited a study by DISK-AR titled "Inflation and rising taxes are eroding workers' wages" and emphasized that people are unable to have children due to poverty, but that existing children are also dying in occupational homicides. The report gave examples of heartbreaking incidents such as 17-year-old Mehmet Dallı, a trainee, falling to his death in a construction site and 12-year-old Eyüp Can Güner losing his life after a chase at a doner shop because he was "working slowly."

Sectoral and Demographic Distribution of Work Killings

According to the detailed data of the DISIG Assembly, the highest number of workplace homicides in July occurred in the agriculture and forestry sector with 54 deaths. This was followed by construction with 47 deaths, transportation with 26 deaths and municipality with 15 deaths.

The most common causes of death were traffic/service accidents, falls from height, crushes/crashes and heart attacks/brain hemorrhages. According to age groups, the highest number of deaths occurred among workers aged 30-49, while at least 9 women workers and 7 migrant workers lost their lives in occupational homicides.

The report stated that non-unionized workers are at a much higher risk of occupational homicides and 96.08% of the workers who died were non-unionized. The OSH Assembly emphasized that these data point to the need to take concrete steps on worker health and safety, increase inspections and remove obstacles to union organizing.

source: ISIG assembly