The International Labor Organization (ILO) Tuesday called for "urgent support" for hundreds of thousands of workers who lost their livelihoods in Türkiye and Syria after last month's earthquakes.
The earthquake has had a devastating impact on workers and enterprises, the U.N.'s labor agency said.
"Workers and enterprises urgently need help to rebuild livelihoods and prevent poverty, informality, and exploitation," the ILO said in a press release on its new assessment of the impact of the disaster on the labor market.
"Without urgent and dedicated support, poverty, informality, and child labor are expected to increase," it said.
The ILO calculated that in the 11 affected provinces in Türkiye, the hours of work lost were 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 7.7-magnitude quake that struck on Feb. 6, and its aftershocks, killed more than 55,000 people across southeastern Türkiye 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."
The ILO calculated that the average affected worker in Türkiye would lose around $230 (TL4,400) a month "as long as the situation continues."
Overall, the crisis is estimated to reduce the take-home labor income of the affected region by around $150 million per month.
Besides job losses, the ILO warned of increased risks to occupational safety and health in Türkiye and child labor.
The ILO said that the temporary loss of 170,000 jobs in Syria has led to total labor income losses equivalent to at least $5.7 million a month.
Aleppo, Hama, Idlib, Latakia, and Tartous were the five Syrian districts worst hit, and they were also home to an estimated 42.4% of the nation's total population, the ILO said and added that around 7.1 million people of working age were included in this.
The agency said that job losses have directly affected around 154,000 households and more than 725,000 people.
Around 35,000 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises have been affected.
"The loss of these businesses goes beyond the loss in incomes and encompasses the cost of the physical damage to their infrastructure, such as buildings, equipment, and inventory," the ILO added.
In Türkiye, the ILO said it was helping Turkish business organizations and trade unions to function and provide critical services, with initiatives on seasonal agricultural workers, child workers, and refugees.
In Syria, the U.N. agency is providing grants to help support affected workers and businesses.
