‘Türk-İş’ (Labour Union) Chairman Ergün Atalay reminded that at the meeting hosted by Türk-İş within the scope of the Minimum Wage Determination Commission's efforts to determine the minimum wage that will be valid in 2022, the minimum wage was determined only 5 times by the agreement of the employee, employer and government. Emphasizing that the minimum wage directly concerns more than 7 million employees, Atalay said, “This was the lowest wage setting, but in recent years it has become a living wage. In other words, close to 7 million people are trying to live on with it, over 30 million people, including the families of the employees. That is more than a third of the country." Atalay, who said that he talked to the Minister of Labor and Social Security Vedat Bilgin on the phone before coming to the meeting, gave the following information: “There is an issue regarding our civil servants announced last night. I asked the Minister, 'What is the regulation? I don't think it's what the public understands,’ I said. According to the statement of the Minister, they are considering completing the cumulative over inflation. Is public servant in difficulty, yes in difficulty. They will have to do the same to the worker. It is not possible for them to exclude the worker from this.”
“I DON'T KNOW IF THEY COMPENSE THIS FROM TAX OR OTHERWISE”
Atalay stated that the current minimum wage is very low and people cannot live on with this wage even for 15 days: “I don't know if they will compensate for this from taxes or in another way. I am not an economist. If the rulers of the country come up with a reasonable and logical figure on this issue, we hope that the workers, employers and the government will sign it together in a short time. If there is a figure that will fall below our expectation, we will not agree with it. I also told the Minister the number. The previous Minister of Finance also knows, President Erdoğan also knows. If the desired number does not come, there is no point in being quick,” he added. Within the scope of the studies to determine the minimum wage that will be valid in 2022, the Minimum Wage Determination Commission will host its third meeting on December 9, by TİSK (Turkish Confederation of Employer Associations).