Peer-reviewed article

Illegality in the informal labour market: findings from pilot research on child labour in Istanbul

Emre Erdoğan, Pınar Uyan Semerci · 3 Jul 2018

Abstract

Children consist of one-third of the population of Turkey that has the second highest level of child poverty among the OECD countries. Child labour is widely observed, especially in the poor families, according to the last official statistics obtained in 2013 in Turkey more than 900.000 children are working. Child labour deprives children of their childhood with short-term and long-term negative consequences. Not only those children who work under the legal age but also children aged 15–18 who can legally work are often working illegally due to existing informal labour market conditions that do not fulfil legal requirements. Using the findings of the pilot research project on child labour in 2017 in Istanbul (Bağcılar and Küçükçekmece), we will elaborate on various dimensions of child labour in urban settings. The research was conducted, in thirty-seven neighbourhoods with 301 working children between the ages of 12–18 and with one of their parents. Acknowledging its limitations, the findings of the pilot research still provide important insights. Poverty is the root cause of child labour, especially in urban Turkey, nevertheless, our work seeks to determine which other factors play an important role in influencing the decision to enter a child into the labour market. Material well-being is crucial for children's wellbeing, but it is not the only determining factor. By clustering analysis, we elaborate on which group of children are more vulnerable and therefore should be immediately targeted. Presenting the environment in which children are working, the costs of being a child-worker are discussed in terms of school performance and drop-out, housework and leisure time activities. Finally, we focus on the reasons of being a child worker.