Increase in the minimum wage in Turkey
Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati announced on Saturday a new planned increase in the minimum wage in Turkey, higher than the inflation rate which is close to 84%.
The increase will affect more than 7 million workers earning the minimum wage, Nebati said, noting that it will exceed the rate of inflation, which jumped to 83.45% in September, marking its highest level in a quarter of century.
Separately, he announced the development of a package of support measures for the benefit of merchants, worth about $2.6 billion, which will come into force soon.
Similarly, a plan to repay the debts of low-income people has been presented to the Turkish parliament and the request for protection of local currency deposits against exchange rate variations has been extended until December 31, 2023.
Due to the continued decline in the exchange rate of the pound against the dollar, which on Saturday recorded the lowest level in its history after falling to 18.681 against the American currency, and the continued rise in the prices of goods and products, observers increasingly expect the Turkish government to accelerate the increase in the minimum wage.
The minimum wage in Turkey has seen two increases this year, the first of which was by 50% at the start of the year. It thus reached 4,250 Turkish liras ($228.71), before the second 30% increase came in July, bringing the minimum wage in Turkey to 5,500 Turkish liras ($295.98).
Indeed, in July, Erdoğan raised the minimum wage by 30%, a move that affected nearly half of the country’s 30 million workers. His government followed up by increasing the salaries of public sector employees by around 42%, which benefited nearly five million civil servants.
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