Uniting forces against child labour: Regional action in Sakarya

The meeting brought together all actors responsible in the national fight against child labour for joint action.

SAKARYA (ILO News) - As part of the Elimination of Child Labour Programme, conducted in coordination with the International Labour Organization (ILO) Office for Türkiye and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MoLSS), regional planning and coordination meetings was held in Sakarya under two major projects: An Integrated Model for the Elimination of Worst Forms of Child Labour in Seasonal Agriculture in Hazelnut Harvesting in Türkiye and the Project for the Elimination of Worst Forms of Child Labour in Seasonal Agriculture in Hazelnut Harvesting in Türkiye. The meeting aimed to strengthen sustainability, cooperation, and coordination in combating child labour.

ILO Türkiye Director Hassan: "Projects in Sakarya can serve as a model"

The meeting, which took place in Sakarya for the Western Black Sea region, started with opening speeches by Yasser Hassan, Director of ILO Office for Türkiye Office, Serdar Uğurlu, Labour Expert from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and Asalet Karabulut, Deputy Governor of Sakarya. In his opening speech, Hassan stated that public private partnership is critical in eliminating the worst forms of child labour in agriculture and gave information about the projects funded by Ferrero Hazelnut Company and CAOBISCO (Association of Chocolate, Biscuit and Confectionery Industries of Europe) and their targets. Hassan also stated that while the achievements so far in the fight against child labour are very valuable, it is not possible to address economic inequalities in a short period of time, and an inter-sectoral, local, national and international approach is required in this way. Hassan appreciated that Türkiye has been producing high-level policy documents in the fight against child labour for many years and added that new regulations were expected to provide guidance to all parties operating in this field. He appreciated the fact that at the beginning of 2024, Türkiye gained the status of a Pathfinder Country in the Alliance 8.7 global coalition for the prevention of child labour, forced labour and modern slavery in the international arena, posing a model country in the international arena. He also referred to the recent circulars of the Presidency and the Ministry of National Education, which include regulations on seasonal agricultural workers. He then called for the support of all parties, stating that steps to combat child labour can only be transformed into a comprehensive social protection if understood thoroughly and implemented by all social partners. Stating that the projects carried out in Sakarya can be a model for other provinces and even different countries, Hassan drew attention to the importance of continuing national and international cooperation.

The multistakeholder nature of the meeting shows the commitment of the ILO to end child labour.

Sakarya Deputy Governor Asalet Karabulut started his opening speech by emphasising the importance of children's rights. Stating that governments are determined to protect children and their rights, Karabulut also mentioned that this internationally defined problem cannot be solved unilaterally. Underlining that international and civil society also have a role in this issue, he stated that the agenda of the meeting constituting a very important place, and he hoped that the awareness on the issue would increase by discussing productively solutions. In the meeting held with the participation of Düzce, Sakarya, Zonguldak and Şanlıurfa Governorships, Alaplı, Yığılca, Kaynaşlı and Kocaali District Governorships and District Directorates, firstly, 'National Fight against Child Labour' presentation was made by Serdar Uğurlu, Labour Expert of ÇSGB. In the presentation, the history of the national legal regulations, policy documents, projects and important developments regarding the prevention of child labour in Türkiye were delivered.

Ayşegül Özbek Kansu and Mehmet Koray Abacı, on the other hand, presented the aims, objectives and contents of the projects they have been conducting, as well as the achievements and gains made in the past years within the scope of the project components and the activities planned for the coming years.

At the meeting, where participants from Şanlıurfa also attended, the importance of intervention to root causes and follow-up of children's school attendance levels in the effective solution of child labour was emphasised. Hasan Ali Subaşı, Deputy Provincial Director of Düzce Provincial Directorate of Labour and Employment Agency, emphasised the obstacles to the withdrawal of young people in the 15-17 age group from seasonal agriculture and stated that strict implementation of legal regulations could be an effective solution. Participants from Sakarya Provincial Directorate of National Education and Alaplı and Kocaali District Directorates of National Education mentioned the positive contributions of the project and emphasised that the improvement of the current e-school system would be beneficial to track and eliminate child labour in agriculture.

The participants of the meeting are ready for cooperation.

The meeting also elaborated the importance of hazelnut exports in Sakarya and Türkiye's economy and emphasised the critical role of sustainable projects in the agricultural sector to prevent child labour. In his closing remarks, Deputy Governor Karabulut expressed his hope that the outputs of the meeting would lead to meaningful and effective results, and Director Yasser Hassan underlined the importance of increasing the coordination and capacity of local and provincial public institutions. After noting a worrying international trend of an increase in child labour in recent years, he reaffirmed the ILO's commitment to provide support in Türkiye.

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.