The eyes of employees and retirees are on Erdogan
After the elections, the eye turned to the economy and the wage increases promised by government representatives before the elections.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the ministers promised a provisional increase in the minimum wage, civil servants’ salaries and pensions.
PLEDGE OF RETIREMENT AND PROMOTION OF OFFICERS
In a statement he made on May 1, 2023, Erdogan said: “After the elections, with the start of the legislative activities of the new Parliament, we will share with our nation the news that will please those who receive pensions above 7,500 lira.”
On May 1, Erdogan said again about the salaries of civil servants: “We will make an arrangement that takes into account the increase in social participation in July, as well as the difference in inflation. We will keep our promise not to crush our officials against inflation,” he said.
Erdogan also said in his speech at the 15th Ordinary General Assembly of the HAK-İŞ Confederation on May 11 that the lowest salary for civil servants would be 22 thousand lira.
In this speech, Erdoğan said: “We will arrange the lowest salary of civil servants in such a way that it is not lower than the lowest salary of civil servants. As with public workers, we will increase the minimum wage to 15,000 lire, and we will make a similar increase in inflation and social participation. Therefore, the lowest salary of civil servants will reach 22 thousand lire. These increases in the salaries of the officials will be automatically reflected in their retirements, ”he said.
THE $500 MINIMUM WAGE PROMISE
Vedat Bilgin, Minister of Labor and Social Security, made a statement on the live broadcast he attended on the evening of May 26, about the expected minimum wage increase in July.
“The minimum wage will be revalued in July. We take into account some parameters when calculating the minimum wage,” Bilgin said, using the following statements regarding the possible increase:
“There have been no taxes on the minimum wage for 1.5 years. In July, we will fix it in such a way that it preserves its real purchasing power. In January we made a deal that took it to the highest level of more than $455 in dollars in the history of the Republic. We will do the same in July. It will be a fee of approximately 500 dollars. Our work is done.”
As of today, 500 dollars is equivalent to approximately 10,000 TL, but an increase in the exchange rate is expected in the next period. The minimum net salary of 8 thousand 506 TL corresponds to approximately 424 dollars today.
Noting that the Minimum Wage Commission is a commission that they serve on behalf of employers, unions and the public, and that this commission makes the decisions, Bilgin said, “We assess according to the commission’s decisions. Now it would not be morally correct for me to explain the numbers from here. I’m saying this; The fact that Turkey maintains a purchasing power of $500 at the minimum wage is reflected not only in those who earn the minimum wage, but also in other employees.”
“The minimum wage also has the effect of determining the salaries at the top,” Bilgin said, adding: “The tops don’t go up much. It is the result of the disorganization of the above.”
THE PROMISE OF THE RENT HAS ARRIVED
Making a statement on the increase in rental prices, Erdoğan stated that preparations were made to increase rental prices and gave the following statements:
“We will definitely solve this problem by producing more houses through TOKİ, avoiding the loss of welfare of civil servants and employees. We are also making the necessary preparations for the sudden increase in rental prices, especially in our metropolitan cities.
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu also said in his statement dated May 17, 2023: “We will provide rent contributions to civil servants at the provincial and district levels in large cities. With the help of TOKİ, we will quickly bring new houses to our region and ensure the balance between supply and demand.”