Home > Current Affairs News > Mehmet Şimşek says 'we will not let them be crushed,' but faces backlash for 'openly distorting' his calculations: Aziz Çelik shares the data

Mehmet Şimşek says 'we will not let them be crushed,' but faces backlash for 'openly distorting' his calculations: Aziz Çelik shares the data

Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek spoke about the minimum wage, civil servant salaries, and pensions, stating, 'we will not let them be crushed.' Prof. Dr. Aziz Çelik responded to Şimşek's remarks.

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Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek attended the 7th Ordinary Congress of the AKP Ankara Women's Branch, held at the party's headquarters.

Speaking at the event, Şimşek stated that the net minimum wage was 184 liras before the AKP government and has risen to 22 thousand liras today, adding, "When adjusted for inflation, it has increased by 293 percent; there is no such period. We will not let employees be crushed by inflation from now on. The lowest civil servant salary has risen from 392 liras to almost 44 thousand liras. In dollar terms, we have increased it from 238 dollars to over 1,220 dollars. It has increased 5-fold in dollar terms. There is no such period. The lowest pension was 66 liras. Today, it has risen to almost 14,500 liras. In dollar terms, it has gone from 40 dollars to over 400 dollars. There is a 10-fold increase in this period," he said. 

"WHICH ONE SHOULD WE CORRECT"

Responding to the data announced by Minister Şimşek via his social media account, DİSK-AR researcher and BirGün columnist Prof. Dr. Aziz Çelik wrote the following:

"Which one of the things Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said should we correct!

Mr. Mehmet has openly distorted the data!

When the Minister's party came to power in December 2002, 

Net minimum wage: 184 TL

Lowest worker pension: 257 TL 

Lowest civil servant pension: 376 TL

Lowest tradesman (Bağ-Kur) pension: 150 TL.

The 66 TL you call the lowest pension was not the lowest pension. It was the Bağ-Kur agricultural pension, which only a very small segment of retirees benefited from. 

The share of Bağ-Kur agricultural insured persons among the total insured is between 1.5-2 percent. The largest group among retirees is workers.

Do not distort the issue!

The lowest worker pension was 39.6 percent above the minimum wage when our party came to power in 2002. According to this calculation, it should currently be around 31 thousand TL.

The lowest civil servant pension was 104 percent above the minimum wage. According to this calculation, it should currently be 45 thousand TL.

The lowest tradesman pension was at the level of 81.5 percent of the minimum wage. It should currently be 18 thousand TL!

What did you do? You made the lowest pension 14,469 TL for everyone (you didn't even make it 14,500)!

This is what you are boasting about!

You reduced the lowest pension to 65.4 percent of the minimum wage.

If Aleppo is there, the yardstick is here, Mr. @memetsimsek. The proof is below! (SBB data)"