According to calculations made by the Turkish Confederation of Labour Unions (Türk-İş), the poverty line for a four person family in March lies at TL 2,752.80 (€ 1,311), the "starvation line" lies at TL 845.11 (€ 402). This is an increase compared with the figures of March 2008 with TL 2,425.55 (€ 1,155) and TL 744.65 (€ 355), respectively.
Türk-İş defines the starvation line as the minimum spending for a healthy diet. The amount for the poverty line concerns the minimum spending for the cost of living including spending for rent, transportation, fuel, water etc.
Türk-İs reminded that the current minimum wage is specified at TL 576.57 (€ 275). Considering this as a single income for a family, this amount remains below the limit for humane living conditions. Türk-İş emphasized that this amount is sufficient for only 20 days of a healthy diet or for six days under humane living conditions.
The same calculation for last year featured TL 2,425.55 (€ 1,155) for the poverty line and TL 744.65 (€ 355) for the starvation line. This means an increase of TL 327 (€ 156) and TL 100 (€ 48), respectively. (TK/VK)