Hundreds of thousands lost their jobs in Turkiye-Syria quake: UN

GENEVA: Hundreds of thousands of workers in Turkiye and Syria have lost their livelihoods due to the earthquake, the United Nations said on Tuesday, as it called for urgent support to rebuild businesses.

The earthquake has had a devastating impact on workers and enterprises, the UN´s labour agency said. The International Labour Organisation calculated that in the 11 affected provinces in Turkiye, the hours of work lost were the equivalent to the work done by around 657,000 workers.

In Syria, in the five affected governorates, it is estimated that around 170,000 workers have temporarily lost their jobs due to the destruction, the ILO said. The 7.8-magnitude quake that struck on February 6, and its aftershocks, killed more than 55,000 people across southeastern Turkiye and parts of war-torn Syria.

“People can only begin to rebuild their lives if they have rebuilt their livelihoods,” said ILO chief Gilbert Houngbo. “We owe it to those who have lost so much in the earthquake to ensure that the principles of social justice and decent work are firmly embedded in the recovery and reconstruction process.”