Poverty line is almost 4 times the minimum wage in Turkey, finds confederation

* Photo: Gürcan Öztürk / Deep Poverty Network

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The Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (Türk-İş) has released the results of its "Starvation and Poverty Line Survey", which it regularly conducts to shed light on the conditions in which citizens make ends meet.

The February results of the survey have shown that while the starvation line was almost on the same level as the minimum wage last month, it has now exceeded the minimum wage by 300 Turkish Lira (TRY).

The Türk-İş data have also demonstrated that the poverty line is almost 4 times the minimum wage in Turkey.

According to the Türk-İş survey, the amount of minimum monthly food expenditure to be made by a family of four to have a healthy, balanced and adequate diet (starvation line) is 4,552 TRY. The current minimum wage in the country stands at 4,253 TRY.

The expenditures to be made by a family of four for food, clothing, housing (rent, electricity, water and fuel), transportation, education, healthcare, etc. (poverty line) amount to 15,139 TRY, according to Türk-İş.

The findings of the Confederation have also indicated that the "cost of living" of a single employee has increased to 5,969 TRY.

In January, the starvation line was 4,249 TRY, the poverty line was 13,843 TRY and the "cost of living" of a single employee was 5,587 TRY.

The minimum expenditure to be made by a family of four "for food", which is also termed "kitchen inflation", has increased by 7.12 percent in a month. The amount of minimum expenditure has increased by 66.38 percent in the past 12 months, according to the confederation.

'They must find an additional 1,716 TRY'

Commenting on the survey results, the Türk-İş has underlined that a single employee now has to find an additional 1,716 TRY to make a living.

Recalling that the reduction of the Value Added Tax (VAT) on food products from 8 to 1 percent entered into force on February 14, the confederation has raised concerns that the real income of citizens has further deteriorated this month due to the uncontrollable increase in the prices of basic food products such as eggs and flour as well as fruits and vegetables.

The Türk-İş has also noted that energy expenses such as fuel oil, natural gas and electricity have kept on being a heavy burden on households. (HA/SD)