BASELINE STUDY

the girls working in the field are working harder than the boys. When they return from working
in the field, they help their mothers in domestic tasks. These findings actually show that
the women of the seasonal agricultural migration are working the hardest. However, this is
a topic of research for another study.
Daily/Weekly/Monthly Durations of Work
Children participating in the seasonal agricultural migration work for an average of 10.10
hours per day. The breakdown of the data by product shows that children work the longest
day in Şanlıurfa, during the cotton harvest, with an average of 11.35 hours per day. On
average, children engaged in the sugarbeet harvest in Yozgat work for 9.97 hours a day,
children employed in low tunnel greenhouse vegetable cultivation in Adana/Mersin for 9.61
hours a day and children involved in the hazelnut harvest in Ordu for 9.19 hours a day. One
of the reasons for the difference in working hours is that while pay is based on a daily rate
for the other products, pay rates in the cotton harvest are calculated based on the total
amount harvested each day, and earnings are paid accordingly (Figure 8). The findings
show that the children employed in the cotton harvest in Şanlıurfa work the longest hours
while those working in hazelnut production in Ordu work the shortest. The use of child
labour by product is greatest in cotton, vegetables, sugarbeet and hazelnuts. The differences
between the provinces are statistically significant (F significance value = 0.0001).
However, when comparing the differences between provinces or products, it should not be
forgotten that even the shortest working day is 9 hours, which is higher than the 8 hours of
work per day generally found to be appropriate for adults.
Figure 8: Average Daily Duration of Work (hours/day) by Province
Adana-Mersin
Ordu
Şanlıurfa
Yozgat
9,61
9,19
11,35
9,97
When judged by the average number of days which the children work per week, the provinces
fall into a slightly different order. The average number of days which children work
per week in all provinces in total is found to be 6.17 days. The average number of working
days is again highest in the cotton harvest in Şanlıurfa (6.75 days/week). The children
employed in this province work 7 days a week for an average of 11.35 hours per day. Ordu,
which on average has the shortest working day, follows Şanlıurfa in second place with
the second highest average number of working days per week (6.39 days/week). These
findings show that although Ordu has a shorter working day, it has a longer working week
when compared to work in greenhouse vegetable cultivation and sugarbeet harvesting
(Figure 9).
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