How Turkey's new minimum wage may end up hurting employees
Employers who don’t want to pay Turkey's pending minimum wage increase are threatening to relocate facilities or hire illegal Syrian workers for low wages.
Turkey's nearly 5 million minimum-wage workers are getting a raise Jan. 1, but some of them may end up unemployed if businesses follow through on their threats.
One of the key campaign issues of the June 7 and Nov. 1 general elections was a minimum wage increase. When the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) promised to hike the monthly minimum to 1,500 Turkish lira ($513) from about 1,000 lira, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) countered by promising 1,300 lira. After the AKP won the Nov. 1 election with resounding success, the party said the new monthly minimum wage, about $445, will take effect Jan. 1.
The Labor Ministry has estimated there are 4.7 million minimum-wage workers in the country.
Turkey’s main labor confederation, Turk-Is, had demanded a minimum wage of 1,425 lira for 2016. Although the promised increase doesn't meet the Turk-IS demand, Turkey’s employers are seriously upset.
