CHP Deputy Chair Gamze Taşçıer: We will follow the process for a minimum wage worthy of human dignity
Minimum wage negotiations, which concern millions of wage earners, begin tomorrow. As the talks approach, statements regarding expectations from unions and the business world are being voiced.
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Alongside the minimum wage hike, the government's statements regarding a "single raise" have also sparked controversy. Türk-İş President Ergün Atalay will send 4 minimum-wage workers to the commission. Atalay announced that they will not accept any proposal below the hunger threshold.
DİSK has also not announced a figure for the minimum wage this year due to high inflation. DİSK argues that the minimum wage should be updated four times a year.
IT HAS OFFICIALLY TURNED INTO A CAT-AND-MOUSE GAME
CHP Deputy Chair Gamze Taşçıer stated that they accept DİSK's demands regarding the minimum wage and announced that they will follow the process for a minimum wage worthy of human dignity. Taşçıer, who held a meeting with Türk-İş last week, stated that they will also meet with the employer side. Noting that it is meaningless to make a prediction based on unrealistic figures, Taşçıer said, "We do not want to be a partner in the government managing this process by ignoring all rules and institutions with a 'my way or the highway' mentality. Therefore, announcing a minimum wage under these conditions has no meaning." Pointing out that wages have lost their purchasing power, Taşçıer used the following expressions: "In such an environment, if the raise given is 17,500, it will fall below the hunger threshold in March; if it is 20,000 liras, it will fall below the hunger threshold in July. It is like a cat-and-mouse game. We have a demand for a wage worthy of human dignity. We have made a call for the ratification of the ILO convention."
Stating that the will of the commission has been usurped, Taşçıer said, "The government has a calculation in mind. Even the Minister of Labor is announcing that it will be done only once; this is a decision that this commission should make. If the commission wants, it can determine the minimum wage 10 times. What we are experiencing is actually an indicator of the point to which the one-man system has brought this country." Saying, "The figures being discussed are only figures that cover the inflation difference; where is the welfare share for these people?" Taşçıer noted that they have submitted a legislative proposal regarding justice in taxation.