Turkey’s government has delivered another steep minimum wage rise amid a long-running cost of living crisis, complicating efforts to rein in chronic inflation but likely to resonate with voters before nationwide municipal elections next year.
The monthly minimum wage will be raised to a net TL17,002 ($578), per month in 2024, Vedat Işıkhan, labour minister, said at a press conference. That is double the rate at the start of this year and a 49 per cent increase from a mid-year adjustment.
“We are pleased to once again fulfil our pledge to prevent our workers from being crushed by inflation,” he said. About a third of the population of 86mn people earn the minimum wage, and other salary rises are determined by the base pay.