The second meeting of the Minimum Wage Determination Commission, closely followed by millions of employees, was held yesterday.
At the meeting hosted by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, the head of the employer delegation was Akansel Koç, Secretary General of the Confederation of Turkish Employers' Associations (TİSK), and the head of the workers' delegation was TÜRK-İŞ Deputy Chairman Ramazan Ağar.
After the meeting, which lasted approximately 1 hour, Türk-İş Deputy Chairman Ramazan Ağar made a short statement and announced that the negotiations would continue.
"Again, no numbers were mentioned. Our meetings will continue. Our Minister was not at the meeting today. Opinions of the government, TURKSTAT, Finance and employers were taken together with the General Director of Labor. The opinions of our friends working for minimum wage were taken. There is no result at the moment, I guess the negotiations will continue quickly," Agar said.
LIVING CONDITIONS ARE CLEAR
Stating that they wish the negotiations to be concluded with an agreement in a short time, Ağar drew attention to the living conditions.
"Living conditions are already clear, it is obvious that those working on minimum wage cannot make ends meet. We know that they cannot pay their house rent, electricity and water. In metropolitan cities, there is no house rent below 10 thousand liras. These need to be evaluated well. Considering his purchasing power, how will he shop at the market and will he be able to go to a restaurant once a week? It seems that these are not possible. If my government and the employer's approach to this issue is good, I think we will reach a conclusion with a tripartite agreement. The number is not available, so why are we planning to discuss this in more detail and reach a conclusion soon?" Agar added.
A MEETING IS PLANNED DURING THIS WEEK
Emphasizing that the minimum wage is the lowest wage, Ağar emphasized that many employees work for the minimum wage.
"We will meet again this week and try to resolve this issue. We are demanders, not givers. Those who pay money will give a figure and we will negotiate accordingly. We don't say numbers," Agar said.