Turkey hikes minimum wage by 22%, far short of demands by labour

Turkey’s minimum wage will rise 22 per cent next year, challenging efforts to keep down inflation while dismaying unions that found it insufficient to address the economic hardships caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The monthly net minimum wage will be 2,826 liras ($377), Labor Minister Zehra Zumrut Selcuk said in Ankara on Monday. 

About half of all workers in the country of 83 million people earn a monthly salary at or near minimum wage, according to a study by labour confederation DISK.

“Considering the loss of incomes due to the pandemic, the new minimum wage had become even more important for employees,” said Arzu Cerkezoglu, the DISK chairwoman. 

Turkey’s largest labor confederation, Turk-Is, which represented workers at the wage negotiations, called the increase “inadequate.” 

However, unions had no immediate plans to combat the government’s decision.