Retirees' rights usurped again! TÜİK hid the facts! Here are the real inflation figures
TÜİK showed the annual inflation rate as 44.38%. The rate from the independent research group ENAG (Inflation Research Group) was 83.40%, while the rate calculated by Meriç Köyatası according to his own basket was 86.38%. Retirees' rights have been usurped.
12punto
Economist and 12punto columnist Meriç Köyatası shared the table he prepared regarding the December 2024 inflation data with the public. Köyatası argued that the data from TÜİK (Turkish Statistical Institute) does not reflect the erosion in the purchasing power of workers and civil servants.
In the shared table, while the annual inflation rate announced by TÜİK was shown as 44.38%, the rate from the independent research group ENAG (Inflation Research Group) was 83.40%, and the rate calculated by Meriç Köyatası according to his own basket was 86.38%.
MONTHLY AND SIX-MONTH DATA ARE ALSO STRIKING
While the inflation announced by TÜİK for December remained at 1.03%, ENAG's figure was 2.34% and Köyatası's calculations matched at 3.08%. Looking at the six-month data, TÜİK calculated an increase of 15.7%, ENAG 27.7%, and Köyatası 30.1%.
MERİÇ KÖYATASI: "TÜİK IS STEALING FROM WORKERS AND CIVIL SERVANTS"
In his statement, Köyatası claimed that the figures announced by TÜİK do not reflect the reality and that the data to be used in salary increases for the working class is shown as lower than it is. He stated that ENAG's and his own calculations present a more realistic picture.
The inflation gap between official institutions and independent research groups in Turkey is of critical importance in terms of salary increases and living standards for employees. The table shared by Meriç Köyatası has brought this debate to the agenda once again. Here is what Köyatası reported regarding the lowest pension:
The lowest pension, which was 10,500 liras at the beginning of the year, was fixed at 12,500 liras in July. Now, this pension will rise to 14,468 liras with the last 6-month inflation adjustment.
However, if the lowest pensions had been adjusted by the ENAG inflation rate, this pension should now be 19,530 liras. But if the retiree's usurped purchasing power had been calculated since January 2020, when ENAG began measuring inflation, the lowest pension today should have been 37,200 liras.