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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced this Thursday, December 22, a 54% increase in the minimum wage from January 1, 2023. This is the third salary increase in a year, in a country weighed down by inflation which has exceeded 84%.
The Turkish president announced a rise in the minimum wage of 5,500 pounds net per month, or about 276 euros. The Turkish minimum wage will therefore rise to 8,500 pounds, or the equivalent of 427 euros per month in January.
Between December 2021 and January 2023, the Turkish minimum wage will thus have increased by 200%, knowing that four out of ten working people in the country live on less than 300 euros per month.
With inflation that has even reached 103% for foodstuffs, Turkey is going through a “ critical period recognizes the Turkish president, less than six months before the presidential and legislative elections, hitting the working class hard. And it is she who allowed Recep Tayyip Erdogan to come to power 20 years ago, and it is on her that he is counting to be re-elected next June.
But this salary increase, given the extent of inflation and the fall of the Turkish currency against the dollar (30% this year), is too low. This is the opinion of one of the most demanding unions. The Confederation of Revolutionary Workers’ Unions is indeed demanding a minimum wage of at least 13,200 Turkish liras, around 670 euros per month, to be reassessed quarterly according to inflation.
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