Turkey is increasing its monthly minimum wage by just under half, to TL17,002 ($578) from January 1 2024.
The increase is likely to boost purchasing power among workers, more than a third of whom earn the minimum wage.
The announcement came after the country’s labour and social security minister, Vedat Işıkhan, discussed the issue with the minimum wage determination commission, the Daily Sabah newspaper reported.
Turkey’s minimum wage will be fixed for 2024.
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The Confederation of Turkish Labor Unions said that their request for TL18,000 and biannual negotiations were rejected, the report said, citing union president Ergün Atalay.
Turkey’s treasury and finance minister, Mehmet Simsek, said earlier that he hopes annual inflation will drop to single digits by the end of 2026.
Inflation is currently at 65 percent and is expected to drop to 36 percent next year and 14 percent in 2025, he said in his speech at the Turkuvaz Media Center in Istanbul.
The minister said that the country’s medium-term programme aims to reduce inflation to single digits, ensure price stability and re-facilitate monetary stability affected by February 6 earthquakes.