Observación (CEACR) - Adopción: 2024, Publicación: 113ª reunión CIT (2025)

Convenio sobre la edad mínima, 1973 (núm. 138) - Türkiye (Ratificación : 1998)

The Committee notes the observations of the Turkish Confederation of Employers’ Associations (TİSK) and the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (TURK-IS) communicated with the Government’s report as well as the observations of the Confederation of Public Employees Trade Unions (KESK), received on 1 September 2023.

Article 1 of the Convention. National policy designed to ensure the effective abolition of child labour and application of the Convention in practice. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the implementation of the National Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour 2017–23 and its action plan, as well as the National Employment Strategy Action Plans 2014–23 and the results achieved.

The Committee notes that the TISK, in its communication, refers to certain initiatives undertaken by the Government to combat child labour, including: (1) the implementation of the European Union-funded project, “Elimination of Child Labour in Seasonal Agriculture” in October 2020 with the goal to strengthen national and local capacity to eliminate the worst forms of child labour in seasonal agriculture and to provide support services to at-risk children and their families; and (2) the establishment of the Seasonal Agricultural Workers’ Information System (e-METIP) to enable the monitoring of the educational status of all children of agricultural seasonal workers and allow effective provision of services to seasonal agricultural workers.

The Committee also notes that the KESK, while referring to the Household Survey of 2022 which indicated an increase in the labour force participation of children aged 15–17 years from 16.4 per cent in 2021 to 18.7 per cent in 2022, stated that there is an extremely worrying trend in child labour in the country. While pointing at the lack of accurate data on child labour to assess the real scope of the problem, the KESK indicates that there are refugee children across the country but there are no effective mechanisms to keep them away from the labour market.

The Committee notes the Government’s information in its report that the action plan annexed to the National Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour 2017–2023 includes 18 strategies and 107 activities under 7 policy headings for eliminating child labour, such as eliminating poverty and improving the quality and accessibility of education. In this regard, the Common Declaration on Combating Child Labour was signed in order to raise awareness about combating child labour and to give priority to this issue in all activities carried out by the relevant institutions and organizations. The General Directorate of Security and the General Commands of the Gendarmerie under the Turkish Ministry of Interior were entrusted with the responsibility of informing the public about the use of 155 police and 156 gendarmerie emergency lines on child labour. In this regard, announcements are carried out on social media accounts and the internet pages of these two institutions as well as on POL-NET (Police information system) and Police Radio.

The Committee also notes the Government’s information that within the framework of the National Employment Strategy (2014–23), efforts are under way to facilitate the entry of families into the labour market through vocational training programmes and incentives in order to increase household incomes and combat poverty. The Government further indicates that the Units for Combating Child Labour have been established in 81 provinces in order to carry out activities more effectively to combat child labour, including detecting and monitoring child labour, as well as to increase the applicability and traceability of policies adopted at the central and local levels. These Units particularly aim at preventing child labour in heavy and dangerous jobs in industry, on streets and in seasonal mobile temporary agriculture, and promoting cooperation and coordination between all relevant institutions and organizations.

The Government also indicates that specific measures are being taken to prevent children from working in temporary seasonal agricultural work, including through the Prime Ministerial Circular No. 2016/5 on Access to Education of Seasonal Agricultural Workers and Children of Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Families. Within the scope of this Circular, the access to, and attendance at school of children are monitored at certain intervals by Provincial/District Monitoring teams. Moreover, the commissions established in the provinces visit families and make them aware of the importance of their children’s attendance at educational and vocational courses as well as of their benefits. The Committee further notes the Government’s information concerning various other measures undertaken to combat child labour, including the adoption of the 2023–28 Türkiye Child Rights Strategy Document and Action Plan which deal with issues related to child labour, education and child protection; and the establishment of “Children are Safe Teams” across the country which identify and monitor children at risk and provide appropriate assistance and guidance. Moreover, Türkiye has been officially recognized as an Alliance 8.7 Pathfinder Country thereby joining a global coalition dedicated to achieving UN Sustainable Development Goal target 8.7, which among others aims to end child labour. The Committee also notes from the Government’s report submitted under the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No.182) that the Conditional Cash Transfer for Education Programme has been extended to refugee children as of September 2018 and that almost 811,118 children benefited from this programme. In this regard, the Committee notes that according to the UNICEF Press release entitled “Ending child Labour – A national priority for Türkiye” of 13 June 2022, Türkiye has made significant progress in reducing child labour during the last three decades. According to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT)there are 72,000 Turkish children (4.4 per cent of all children aged 5–17 years) engaged in child labour in the service, agricultural and industrial manufacturing sectors. While taking due note of the measures taken by the Government, the Committee encourages it to continue its efforts to ensure the progressive elimination of child labour in all sectors. It requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken in this regard as well as the results achieved.

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