Turkey Raises the Minimum Salary for Next Year
Turkey’s citizens are starting 2020 with positive news as the government orders the minimum wage to be raised. Starting next year, the base for wages in the country will be increased by 15.
This will affect many Turkish citizens as almost a third of the country’s workforce receive the minimum salary. The government called to raise the minimum as the economy suffers due to great dissatisfaction from citizens.
As of the moment, Turkey’s minimum wage sits a 2,021 Turkish liras per month. By next year, the net monthly minimum salary will be increased to 2,325 liras, or about $392 against the current exchange rate.
The good news was announced yesterday by the Turkish Labor Minister Zehra Zumrut Selcuk in Ankara. The country has been in headlines economy news and recently, it hurt the incumbent president’s ruling party in municipal elections.
The wage hike compares with the November inflation rate in the country which ticked up to 10.56%. Turkey’s inflation growth has started to cool down after it peaked 25% late last year after a massive currency shock on summer.
Last year, the country faced a huge currency and debt crisis which led to the TRY’s devaluation, alarmingly high inflation, and increasing loan defaults.
The devastating crisis was caused by the excessive current account deficit and the huge foreign-currency debt. On top of that, the authoritarianism and the unusual monetary policy view of the president weighed on the economy.
Political Agendas
Some critics claim that the real reason why President Erdogan raised the monthly minimum wages was due to political strategies. The Turkish president’s ruling party was really hurt by the dissatisfaction of the people with the economy’s state.
Earlier this year, the 2019 Turkish local elections were held throughout the 81 provinces of the country. Unlike other countries being affected by the slow down of the world economy, Turkey has more home-grown problems.
The economy’s downturn was a major factor in the loss of the Turkish AK Party in the March elections. Formally called the Justice and Development Party, it is led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
AKP had major bruises after losing crucial posts in commercial hubs Istanbul and Ankara, the country’s capital. It also widened the political denomination of the country.
The wage hike will affect 10 million workers, which is almost a third of the country’s labor force of 33 million. And it will have a significant impact on the country’s political landscape.
Over the past few years, Turkey’s wages have slowly eroded due to the declining purchasing power of the country.
The wage hike was previously demanded by Turk-Is labor confederation head, Ergun Atalay, back on December 5. In his speech, he called to raise the monthly net minimum wage to 2,578 liras.
