Turkey remained among the world’s 10 worst countries for workers’ rights, according to the 2026 Global Rights Index published by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), which cited union-busting, restrictions on strikes and arrests of trade union members as key concerns.
The Brussels-based ITUC, the world’s largest trade union federation, put Turkey in its category of countries offering “no guarantee of rights,” a rating it reserves for states where workers are considered to have little effective access to labor rights despite legal protections on paper.
Turkey was listed alongside Argentina, Belarus, Ecuador, Egypt, Eswatini, Myanmar, Nigeria, Panama and Tunisia.
“Türkiye retains its long-held position in the top 10 list of the worst countries for workers’ rights,” the report said, arguing that the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has a “long track record of crushing basic labour rights.”
The report pointed to several incidents in 2025. It said workers at Digel Textile, a German-owned garment manufacturer, were fired after joining the TEKSIF union, while workers at hydraulic systems producer SAG Hidrolik faced dismissals and alleged pressure to resign from a union after it obtained bargaining rights.
The ITUC also criticized state intervention in labor disputes. It cited a July 2025 presidential decree postponing a miners’ strike at state-owned Eti Maden on national security grounds. Under Turkish labor legislation, such postponements can ultimately lead disputes to compulsory arbitration, preventing workers from carrying out a strike.
The report further highlighted measures taken against leaders of the Eğitim Sen education union after the union organized a solidarity strike following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu in March 2025. According to the ITUC, union leaders were put under house arrest and later subjected to reporting requirements.
Turkey has frequently appeared near the bottom of the ITUC’s annual rankings, which assess labor rights conditions in 151 countries based on criteria including freedom of association, collective bargaining rights, access to justice and the right to strike.
The Turkish government has previously rejected international criticism of its labor and human rights record, arguing that restrictions imposed on strikes or demonstrations are carried out in accordance with national law and public order requirements.
The ITUC report comes as labor organizations in Turkey continue to raise concerns over unionization rates, collective bargaining rights and government intervention in industrial disputes. Turkish authorities maintain that workers enjoy constitutionally protected labor rights and that legal mechanisms exist to resolve labor conflicts.
The ITUC’s index is based on information gathered from affiliated unions and assesses labor rights violations occurring between April 2025 and March 2026.
Turkey recorded at least 2,105 deaths in work-related accidents in 2025, according to a report by the Health and Safety Labor Watch (İSİG).
This article is republished from the Stockholm Center for Freedom.