Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

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

The Committee notes the observation of the Turkish Confederation of Employers’ Associations (TİSK) received on 28 October 2016.

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (a). All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery. Sale and trafficking of children. The Committee previously noted that, according to the indications of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Turkey is a country of transit and destination for trafficked children, who are forced into prostitution and debt bondage. The Committee noted the Government’s information that there were between 50–90 child victims of trafficking in 2010. Sixteen perpetrators responsible for trafficking involving victims under 18 years of age were found guilty and convicted in 2009, and five in 2010. The Committee also noted the Government’s statement that between 1 June 2011 and 31 January 2013, 97 foreign nationals were identified as victims of human trafficking, but none were children. The Government also indicated that it was taking measures to combat trafficking within the framework of the Second National Action Plan to Combat Trafficking.

The Committee takes due note of the Government’s information in its report that the Regulation to Combat Human Trafficking and to Protect Victims entered into force on 17 March 2016. According to this Regulation, victims shall be deemed as children at least until the examination to ascertain their status as a child is concluded. Moreover, psychologists or social workers shall be present during the interview with child victims in the identification process. Identified child victims are handled by the relevant units of the Ministry of Family and Social Policies. The Regulations also provide for access to education services, as well as a voluntary and safe return programme. The Committee also notes the Government’s information that, from 2014 to the first quarter of 2016, 740 out of 1,056 suspects involved in 238 adjudicated cases related to trafficking in persons were acquitted. The Committee therefore urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that those responsible for the trafficking of children under 18 years of age are prosecuted, and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties are applied in practice, and asks the Government to provide statistical information on the number of prosecutions initiated, convictions, and penalties imposed. It also requests the Government to continue its efforts to provide the necessary and appropriate direct assistance to child victims of trafficking, including their rehabilitation and social integration, and to provide information on the results achieved.

Articles 3(d) and 4(1). Hazardous work and excluded categories of work. The Committee previously noted that under section 4 of the Labour Act, several categories of workers are excluded from its scope of application, including workers in businesses with fewer than 50 employees in the agricultural and forestry sector, construction work related to agriculture within the framework of the family economy, and domestic service. The Committee also noted that the Regulation on Principles and Procedures on Employment of Children and Young Persons issued in 2013 (Child Employment Regulation 2013) specified the occupations in which children are allowed to be employed, including ten types of light work, 27 types of work permitted for young persons between the ages of 15 and 18, and an additional 11 types of work permitted for children between the ages of 16 and 18. The Committee further noted the adoption of the Occupational Health and Safety Law (OSH law), which applies to all workers, including those excluded from the Labour Act. Section 10 of the OSH Law provides that, when conducting a risk assessment of a workplace, the situation of young workers shall be considered.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that the Child Employment Regulation 2013 was enacted on the basis of section 71 of the Labour Law, and that consequently, it is not applicable to work that is not covered by the Labour Law. The Government also indicates that the OSH Law contains certain exceptions regarding its scope of application, including domestic service and self-employed work. The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that the domestic service where children and young persons can be employed is covered by the Code of Obligations No. 6098, of which section 417(2) provides for employers’ obligation to ensure occupational health and safety at the workplace, and prohibits psychological and sexual abuse. The Committee also notes, from the observation of the TİSK submitted under the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), that according to the Child Labour Survey 2012, the number of children employed in industry dropped considerably, but that there was a sharp increase in the number of those employed in agriculture and services. The Committee recalls from the General Survey of 2012 on the fundamental Conventions (paragraphs 549–557), that children working in certain sectors of the economy, in particular those working in the informal economy, and the domestic and agricultural sectors, constitute high-risk groups who are usually outside the normal reach of labour controls and vulnerable to hazardous working conditions. The Committee reminds the Government that the Convention applies to all children under 18 years of age, without exceptions. The Committee therefore urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that all children under 18 years of age are protected from hazardous work, including those working outside a labour relationship or out of the normal reach of labour controls. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any measures undertaken and the results achieved in this regard.

Articles 5 and 7(2). Monitoring mechanisms and effective and time-bound measures. Children working in seasonal hazelnut agriculture. The Committee previously noted the statement of the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (TÜRK-İŞ) that children were involved in hazelnut harvesting in very poor conditions. The Committee also noted the Government’s statement that children working in agriculture were one of the target groups of the Time-Bound Programme for the Prevention of Child Labour and that it was implementing an action plan to keep children out of plantations in nut growing provinces. The Committee further noted 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 notes the TİSK’s information that the Ministry of Education issued the Circular “Access to education for the children of seasonal agricultural workers, migrants and semi-migrant families” in 2016, which provides for concrete measures regarding the provision of education to the children of migrant workers and semi-migrant families engaged in seasonal agricultural work, in order to protect them from child labour.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that the Pilot Project on the Prevention of the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Seasonal Hazelnut Agriculture, in collaboration with the ILO, has been extended to 2018, additionally covering Akcakoca and Chilimli in Duzce Province and Hendek in Sakarya province. Another Pilot Project on “Testing United States Department of Agriculture’s Application Proposals in Hazelnut Supply in Turkey” is carried out in cooperation with the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MLSS) and the ILO, among other stakeholders. This Project will be implemented in 1,000 hazelnut fields in the provinces of Ordu, Sakarya and Duzce for 28 months, aiming to prevent child labour in the supply chain. However, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that no labour inspection activities covering seasonal agricultural work, in particular the activity of hazelnut picking, was carried out during 2013–16. Referring to the 2012 General Survey (paragraph 556), the Committee recalls the necessity to ensure effective law enforcement, including through the strengthening of labour inspection, where there are children engaged in hazardous work in agriculture. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures to strengthen the capacity and expand the reach of the labour inspectorate in agriculture. The Committee also requests the Government to continue its efforts, through the implementation of effective and time-bound measures, 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, and to provide information on the results achieved.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Access to free basic education. Syrian refugee children. The Committee notes, from UNICEF’s press release of 19 January 2017, that Turkey hosts the largest number of child refugees worldwide, among which over 40 per cent (380,000) are Syrian refugee children missing out on education. The Committee also notes that, according to the Evaluation Report of UNHCR’s Emergency Response to the Influx of Syrian Refugees in Turkey for the period going from January 2014 to June 2015 (Evaluation Report, ES/2016/03), partly due to lack of access to education, one of the most serious protection problems facing Syrian refugee children is child labour. While acknowledging the difficult situation prevailing in the country, the Committee expresses its concern at the large number of Syrian refugee children who are deprived of education. Considering that education is one of the most effective methods of preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to facilitate access to free, quality basic education to Syrian refugee children.

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