Health professional organizations in Ankara issued a statement titled “No to Child Labor, Child Poverty, and Workplace Deaths” on April 28, the Day of Remembrance for Those Who Lost Their Lives in Workplace Accidents.

At the press conference held at the Ankara Medical Chamber, it was reported that at least 764 children have lost their lives in work-related accidents over the past 12 years.

Speaking here, Dr. Özden Çırpar, a member of the Ankara Medical Chamber Executive Board, stated that the number of registered child workers in Turkey has reached 1,372,000, and this number approaches two million during the summer months.

Çırpar stated that children are being deprived of education due to poverty and are being employed as cheap labor in labor-intensive sectors.

According to the announced data, one-third of child workers who lost their lives in workplace accidents over the past 12 years were under the age of 15, and these included children aged 4, 5, and 6.

Çırpar criticized the state policies aimed at promoting child labor and emphasized that child labor should be completely banned, education should be provided free of charge and secular at all levels, and children should be provided with healthy and free meals.

Özden Çırpar concluded, “Our children's place is not in factories, construction sites, or workshops; it is in schools, parks, and playgrounds. We must put an end to stealing our children's lives and futures so that a few people can earn more money.”