Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Türkiye (Ratification: 2001)

The Committee notes the observations of the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (TÜRK-İŞ) and the Turkish Confederation of Employers’ Associations (TİSK), both dated 2 January 2014.

Article 7(2) of the Convention. Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (b). Necessary and appropriate direct assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour and for their rehabilitation and social integration. Children working in the agricultural sector. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the statement by TÜRK-İŞ that one of the most important sectors in which children are engaged in hazardous work is seasonal agricultural work. However, it noted that the Government was implementing a project which included measures to reduce child labour in seasonal agricultural work and promote access to education.

The Committee notes the statement of TÜRK-İŞ that children are involved in hazelnut harvesting in very poor conditions. It notes the Government’s statement that children working in agriculture are one of the target groups of the Time Bound Programme for the Prevention of Child Labour and that it is implementing the Action Plan to keep children out of plantations in nut growing provinces. It also notes the Government’s collaboration with ILO–IPEC on a project to reduce child labour in seasonal commercial agriculture in hazelnut production in Ordu. The Committee further notes that the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), in its concluding observations of 20 July 2012, noted that there remained a large number of children still employed, particularly in seasonal agriculture (CRC/C/TUR/CO/2-3, paragraph 62). The Committee urges the Government to pursue and strengthen its efforts to ensure that children under 18 years of age are not engaged in hazardous work in the agricultural sector, particularly in seasonal agricultural work and the nut harvest. It requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken in this regard, as well as the results achieved.

Clause (d). Children at special risk. Children living or working on the streets. The Committee notes the statement by TÜRK-İŞ that child labour by street children is becoming increasingly widespread in Turkey, and that these children perform heavy and dangerous work, drop out of school, and are the victims of neglect and exploitation. TÜRK-İŞ indicates that there are insufficient economic resources allocated to addressing the phenomenon of street children, and that greater efforts are needed to address this problem.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the Ministry of Family and Social Policies is implementing an integrated service model for children living and working on the street. Mobile teams have been established, consisting of police officers, psychologists and social workers, with the purpose of locating children and ensuring that they are sent to institutions where care is provided. The Government indicates that between 1 January 2011 and 1 July 2013, legal action was taken with regard to 29 children who were being made to work on the streets, and follow-up action was taken. The Government also provides information regarding measures taken to reach out to at-risk children, and return these children to school. These measures include the development of a Model of Early-Warning and Absenteeism Management, and a project to increase the rate of attendance in primary school, which provides protective and preventive services to children through social service centres as well as financial support to families in need. Taking note of the measures taken by the Government, the Committee encourages the Government to pursue and strengthen its efforts to reach out to children who live and work on the streets, in order to protect these vulnerable children from the worst forms of child labour. It requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken in this regard. It also requests the Government to provide further information on the legal action taken with respect to children being made to work on the street, including the number of prosecutions, convictions and penalties imposed on adults in this regard.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.