Worker deaths in Turkey reached their highest monthly level in 14 years in November, with at least 216 fatalities recorded nationwide, the Stockholm Center for Freedom reported, citing a new report from the Health and Safety Labour Watch/Turkey (İSİG).
The deaths raise the total number of workplace deaths in 2025 to date to 1,956.
Construction saw the heaviest losses in November, with 71 deaths — the highest monthly figure ever recorded for the sector — accounting for 33 percent of all fatalities. It was followed by agriculture with 16 percent and transportation with 14 percent.
Among the victims were 19 women and 13 minors, including four under 14. Twelve were refugees or migrants from Iran (4), Egypt (3), Syria (2), Afghanistan (1), Russia (1) and Turkmenistan (1).
İSİG said the recent increase in Iranian and Egyptian workers dying particularly in earthquake-affected provinces points to growing labor migration from those countries. Rights groups have long warned that migrant and child laborers face higher risks due to informal employment and inadequate inspections.
The leading causes of death were falling from heights, which accounted for 24 percent of all deaths, crushing incidents with 20 percent and traffic accidents at 18 percent, İSİG said.
İstanbul recorded the highest number of fatalities with 24 deaths, followed by Kocaeli (12) and Şanlıurfa (12).
İSİG documented 1,897 work-related deaths in 2024, underscoring what advocates describe as a persistent failure to improve occupational safety despite repeated warnings.
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.
