Özgür Burak Akkol, Chairman of the Board of TİSK, said, “Minimum wage is the base wage. We always say that our employers who have the opportunity should pay a reasonable high wage.”
The 28th General Assembly of the Confederation of Turkish Employers' Associations (TİSK) was held in Ankara. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, speaking at the General Assembly, pointed out that they work closely with TİSK and employers, and expressed their satisfaction with TİSK. Erdoğan said, “Recently, we have worked closely with our employers in every issue, from the determination of the minimum wage to the determination of tax brackets, and acted in a unified understanding. The most important reason for this process is that TİSK goes beyond being an organization that only publishes reports and only makes statements, and takes an active role in solving the problems of the country and the nation.” Delivering the opening speech of the General Assembly, TİSK Chairman Özgür Burak Akkol stated that a historic agreement made on the minimum wage of last year. Akkol called out to the employers despite the new regulations and said, “At the beginning of the year, a historical agreement was reached on the minimum wage. There is no tax on the minimum wage. We are one of the 2 countries in Europe that does not collect taxes. After 6 months, we protected the efforts of our employees for the second time in a row. We always say that the minimum wage is the base wage, we always say that our employers who have the opportunity should pay a reasonable high wage.”
MINIMUM WAGE RATE 37 PERCENT
Noting that it is important that the employer union is celebrating its 60th anniversary, Minister of Labor and Social Security Vedat Bilgin reminded the opposition parties' statements that the minimum wage is the basic wage. Bilgin claimed that the rate of minimum wage workers is not as high as mentioned and said, “The rate of minimum wage is around 37 percent. The minimum wage has that effect. When we increase the minimum wage, both real wages and nominal wages are adjusted at that level. I must state that we follow a minimum wage policy that carries average up.”