Minimum-wage workers in Turkey just got a 49% pay rise, but they're probably not that happy about it
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- Turkey's Labor Minister Vedat Isikhan announced the country's minimum wage will increase 49%.
- It may do more harm than good in the country's effort to curb inflation.
- Minimum wage hikes have occurred in tandem with Turkey's inflation increases for years.
Turkey's labor minister announced the country's minimum wage will increase by 49% in 2024 to 17,002 liras ($577) a month.
But people probably aren't that happy about it.
Minimum wage hikes have occurred in tandem with Turkey's rocketing inflation for years, and 2024 may not be any different.
The increase in salary for workers may do more harm than good in the country's effort to curb inflation, as banks warned Turkey's efforts to cut it in half next year could be complicated if the minimum wage was increased by 40%-50%, Bloomberg reported.
The decision came after Turkey's labor unions asked for an increase to 18,000 liras and two more increases next year, according to Bloomberg.
"We fulfilled our promise not to allow our workers to be crushed by inflation," Turkey's Labor Minister Vedat Isikhan said in a news conference on Wednesday, per Bloomberg.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is a fan of cheap money and low-interest rates, and increasing wages in response to sky-high inflation has been a pattern of Turkey's for several years.
The country raised the minimum wage by 54% at the end of 2022, from 5,500 liras ($186) to 8,500 liras ($288).
As a result of the cycle, inflation in Turkey hit over 100% this year.
This has left people unable to buy basic household goods.
A pensioner told Global Times in September that he had developed a vitamin deficiency due to being unable to purchase meat or dairy and had to take supplements instead. Others also said they were struggling to make ends meet and had seen a dramatic decrease in what they could afford.
People told Reuters they were struggling in May, seeing "nothing but hunger" around them.
"The exchange rate is uncontrollable," said a barber named Hakim Ekinci. "We can't afford anything."