Minimum wage hike debates: It will exceed 'that figure'

Ekonomim columnist Alaattin Aktaş, regarding the minimum wage increase to be implemented in 2025, stated, "The rate being discussed in Ankara is not 17.5 percent; it is being suggested that the increase rate could be around 30 percent."

Stating that if the minimum wage is increased only by the 2025 inflation target, two realities would be ignored, Aktaş wrote the following in his column:

"This would mean that the erosion caused by inflation on the minimum wage, which remained unchanged throughout 2024, is not being addressed.

Secondly, there is almost no possibility that 2025 inflation will remain at 17.5 percent.

Let's assume the increase rate at the beginning of this year is 17.5 percent, but 2025 inflation reaches 25 or 30 percent. Well, just like the failure to provide the 2024 inflation difference at the end of this year, this would mean that the 2025 inflation difference will not be provided when entering 2026, and the purchasing power of minimum wage earners will erode even further.

Let us clarify that the rate being discussed in Ankara is not 17.5 percent. Of course, I do not have the chance to convey this as definitive information, but it is being suggested that the increase rate could be around 30 percent.

This means that the minimum wage in 2025 will be set at around 22 thousand liras."