Mehmet Şimşek's statement on retiree raises: We pushed the limits as far as we could

Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek made new statements regarding retirees during a television program he attended.

“WE PUSHED THE LIMITS AS FAR AS WE COULD”

Speaking about the 5,000 TL bonus for non-working retirees announced yesterday by AKP Chairman and President Tayyip Erdoğan, Şimşek said, “We pushed the budget limits as far as we could yesterday, and a one-time payment that can be considered significant was decided there.”

Stating, “We have a promise to our retirees. That is, our civil servants, our workers, and our retirees will not be crushed by inflation,” Şimşek said the following;

“The lowest retiree pension was 3,500 TL in December 2022; today it is 7,500 TL. Even if inflation is 65 percent, we are talking about a proportional increase that is double the inflation rate. The lowest civil servant salary has also increased by at least double the headline inflation, meaning that in real terms, far beyond our growth, very large wage increases have been made for all segments of society.”

‘THERE ARE NO WINNERS IN HIGH WAGE INCREASES’

Stating, “Of course, we will prioritize our retirees in the coming period,” Şimşek said, “Let me underline this: if we are to permanently bring inflation down to single digits, income policy must also be in line with these targets,” and continued as follows:

“After a while, there must be an increase mechanism compatible with inflation. Because otherwise, you enter a spiral. High increases lead to high inflation, and there are no winners here; uncertainty increases and doing business becomes difficult. Therefore, we must break this vicious cycle. But we will break this vicious cycle not only with wage policies, but also by rationalizing monetary policy and through savings in the public sector.”

DECLINE IN INFLATION AFTER JUNE

Şimşek also made statements regarding inflation and the loss of value in the TL.

Stating, “The strengthening of the dollar is against us because we sell goods in Euros and buy raw materials with dollars,” Şimşek used the expression, “From this point on, there will be no reason for a permanent loss of value for the TL; we have entered a real interest rate path.”

Stating, “We have made significant progress in terms of external resources, and we have transitioned to a monetary policy that will anchor inflation,” Şimşek pointed out that a serious loss of momentum in inflation on a monthly basis will begin.

Şimşek concluded his words as follows;

“The loss of momentum in inflation will begin on a monthly basis within the next few months. The measures we have taken in monetary policy will be reflected with a delay; there is a base effect, so there will be a transition period. The main, permanent, high-dose disinflation on an annual basis will begin from June onwards.”

News Source: 12punto