Hak-İş President Arslan: 'There is poor management of the economy'
Hak-İş Chairman Mahmut Arslan made statements at the labor council meeting. Arslan said, "Turkey ranks fourth in the world in income inequality, after Mexico, Chile, and Costa Rica."
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Working Life in the Century of Turkey; the 13th Labor Council Meeting titled "The Future of Labor, Union Organization, and Employment" was held in Ankara.
The meeting was attended by Hak-İş Chairman Mahmut Arslan, Memur-Sen Chairman Ali Yalçın, and Türk-İş Chairman Ergün Atalay. Reminding that the minimum wage is an exceptional wage in developed countries, Hak-İş President Arslan stated that in European Union countries, social support is provided to those working for minimum wage.
Stating that the rate of those working for minimum wage in Turkey is 40 percent of total employees, Arslan said that the minimum wage in Turkey is a general subsistence wage.
"THOSE WHO HOARD ARE MERCILESS"
Stating that those who hoard are merciless, Türk-İş Chairman Atalay said, "In our country, there are those who hike prices at the minimum. They take action when the minimum wage is discussed. It has always been like this. The man is hoarding. He cuts something else instead of meat. Now there are legislative efforts. We will punish those who commit this crime. Those who do this are merciless men. Give as much punishment as you want. If you do not cut off their relationship with money, they will continue to raise prices mercilessly" he said.
"THERE IS POOR MANAGEMENT OF THE ECONOMY"
Emphasizing that the purchasing power of a large part of society has fallen, Atalay said, "There is poor management of the economy. The retirees, farmers, the unemployed, and minimum wage earners are paying the price for this. We have reached a point where workers who have worked in the public sector for 20 years will receive wages just a notch above the minimum wage. Previously, public sector worker wages set an example for the private sector," he said.