Black table on salaries.

While there is little time left for minimum wage negotiations to begin, the Research Center of the Confederation of Revolutionary Trade Unions (DİSK-AR) published its research containing surprising information about the current minimum wage.

According to the report, while the rate of those earning less than the minimum wage in Turkey was 24.4 percent in 2002, this rate increased to 33.8 percent in 2022.

Those earning 5 percent more than the minimum wage or less will increase from 27.8 percent in 2002 to 37.5 percent in 2022, those earning 10 percent more than the minimum wage will increase from 30.7 percent percent in 2002 to 38 percent in 2022, increased to 4.

The rate of workers earning 20 percent more or less than the minimum wage increased from 39.1 percent in 2002 to 54.8 percent in 2022.

While the rate of workers earning more than twice the minimum wage was 40.1 percent in 2002, this rate decreased to 18.1 percent in 2022 due to the reduction in the minimum wage and the average wage gap.

THE IMAGE IS WORSE IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND FOR WOMEN

In the private sector, the overall rate of workers earning more than twice the minimum wage fell to 7.6 percent. For private sector employees, this rate remained at just 4.9 percent.

54.5 percent of women working in the private sector received salaries even lower than the minimum wage.

In European Union countries, the rate of those earning at or around the minimum wage was only 4 percent.

THE LATEST FROM EUROPE

According to the European Statistical Office (Eurostat), Turkey became the fifth country with the lowest minimum wage among European countries.

According to the average annual gross minimum wage data in euros, the minimum wage in Turkey in July was 474 euros, while countries with lower minimum wages than Turkey are Macedonia (359 euros), Albania (375 euros), Bulgaria ( 399 euros). ) and was listed as Serbia (461 euros).

While the highest minimum wage among EU countries in 2023 is in Luxembourg with 2,508 euros per month, this figure is 1,997 euros in Germany, 1,995 euros in the Netherlands, 1,955 euros in Belgium, 1,910 euros in Ireland and France. 1,747 euros in Spain, 1,260 euros in Spain, 1,156 euros in the United States, 910 euros in Greece, 887 euros in Portugal, 835 euros in Malta, 811 euros in Poland and 604 euros in Romania.

While the minimum wage in euros has increased an annual average of 1.6 percent in the last 10 years (2013-2023) and has melted in the face of euro inflation, the annual average is 12.9 percent in Romania, 11.2 percent in Lithuania and 9.7 percent in Bulgaria. increased by .

While there were 14 countries with lower minimum wages than Turkey in 2013, this number has dropped to 4 in 2023.

ALL WAGES ARE CLOSE TO THE MINIMUM WAGE

The process of adopting the minimum wage is accelerating throughout the country. The gap between the minimum wage and the average wage is closing.

Between 2002 and 2023, the average pension of civil servants increased 20.2 times, the average salary of public workers increased 24.7 times, and the lowest pension of workers increased 29.2 times. The average salary of civil servants multiplied by 38.8, the lowest pension of merchants multiplied by 50, and the lowest salary of civil servants multiplied by 51.9. For its part, the increase in the net minimum wage was 61.9 times.

Therefore, the relationship between non-minimum wage labor income and the minimum wage decreased. For example, while the average salary of public officials was 213.6 percent more than the minimum wage in 2002, it decreased to 96.6 percent more in 2023. While the average salary of public workers was 449 percent above the minimum wage in 2002, it fell to 119 percent in 2023.

IN 2005 IT WAS 31.5 REPUBLIC GOLD, NOW IT IS 9.5

The high depreciation of the TL against foreign currency and gold also reduces the relative level of the minimum wage.

While in 2005 you could buy 31.5 Republic gold coins with the annual minimum wage, today you can buy an average of 9.5 Republic gold coins.

If the first tax bracket, which was 2,500 TL in 2000, was considered as the base, and the first tax bracket was increased by as much as the increase in the minimum wage, the first tax bracket would be 219,474 TL in 2023. , but the government has committed a tax injustice and now the first portion of taxes is at the level of 70 thousand TL.