Hidden camera footage shows child labour in Turkish textile industry

Thanks to hidden camera footage, American television station CBS has managed to reveal how textile companies in the Turkish capital of Istanbul use child labour. Apparently, these are mostly Syrian refugees.

Working like slaves

Children who work in the Istanbul-based textile industry have to do daily 12-hour shifts and according to CBS, they earn 140 euro per month. Normally, an adult earns about three times as much.

A principal of a Turkish school that teaches Syrian children for free says many parents tell their children to go to work, because they need the money to survive. On top of that, children are not aware they have rights and work diligently without complaints.

“[Children] are just going to work like slaves and it’s easier to keep them as slaves than doing it to an adult”, Leyla Akca said. She is a Turkish psychologist helping Syrian children and their families.