Main opposition CHP proposes setting the minimum wage every 6 months

* Photo: MEB

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Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Niğde MP Ömer Fethi Gürer has submitted a Draft Law Foreseeing Amendments to the Labor Law and recommended that the minimum wage should be determined every 6 months in Turkey, rather than every year, as it is now the case.

Gürer has underlined that the effects of the economic crisis that Turkey has found itself in are increasing by day and raised concerns that the moves aimed at reducing these effects do not bring any results. He has noted that the current deadlock deepens the crisis further.

The MP has said that the economic crisis has led to a loss of value of lira, causing inflation to increase in the meanwhile He has noted that "while it is the main aim of all countries to reach a low and sustainable inflation level and to enable economic units to make more sound decisions about the future, various policies are developed and put into force about this".

Discrepancy between inflation figures

Ömer Fethi Gürer has also referred to the current inflation figures in Turkey. According to the official statistics of the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat), the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 4.81 percent monthly and by 54.44 percent annually in February 2022.

As for the Domestic Producer Price Index (D-PPI) of the TurkStat, it increased by 105.1 percent annually and by 7.22 percent monthly.

At this point, the main opposition MP has stressed that as citizens sense that the real inflation is much higher when they do shopping in bazaars and markets, this leads to a lack of trust in the TurkStat on the part of citizens.

Citing the data of the Inflation Research Group (ENAG), an alternative platform which has been sharing consumer inflation data for some time now, Gürer has recalled that the monthly inflation was 5.44 percent and annual inflation was 123.8 percent in February, according to ENAG.

'Wage increase melts from the first month on'

Ömer Fethi Gürer has raised concerns that while economic crises affect people from all groups, they especially affect the ones who have to live on the minimum wage" The MP has noted that since the new minimum wage was determined in December, the wage increase has melted in a short time as a result of the increasing inflation and costs of living.

Accordingly, CHP MP has proposed that the minimum wage be determined every 6 months so that the resilience of minimum wage earners can be increased in the face of inflation. He has added that the minimum wage should be set in 6-month periods so that the gradual loss of value of the minimum wage due to uncontrollable increases in inflation can be hindered. (HA/SD)