CHP delegation visits Minister Şimşek: What is on the agenda?

Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek met with Yalçın Karatepe, the shadow minister responsible for Treasury and Finance of the Republican People's Party (CHP), at the ministry.

The delegation also included Secretary General Selin Sayek Böke and Deputy Chairman Volkan Demir, representing the CHP.

WHAT TOPICS ARE ON THE TABLE?

CHP's Yalçın Karatepe will voice the demand for a minimum wage increase of at least the inflation rate starting from July.

A proposal to increase pensions by adding a welfare share to the inflation rate will also be on the table.

During the meeting, topics such as increasing agricultural subsidies, TÜİK (Turkish Statistical Institute) data, and the Wealth Fund will also be brought to the agenda by the CHP experts.

THE MEETING LASTED 4 HOURS

The meeting between Karatepe and Şimşek ended at 14:18. The meeting lasted more than 4 hours.

Karatepe left the meeting with a red file.

STATEMENT FROM KARATEPE

CHP Deputy Chairman Yalçın Karatepe held a press conference regarding his meeting with Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek at the CHP Headquarters.

In his statement, Karatepe said, "We rejected the decision not to increase the minimum wage in the second half of the year in a place where inflation is running so high. Therefore, we expressed that an increase in the minimum wage is mandatory. Similarly, we conveyed that an increase in pensions is mandatory."

Emphasizing that agriculture is a matter of national security, Karatepe said, "Before going to the meeting, we did the calculations. We see that 89.6 billion dollars in support has not been provided to our farmers since 2006. We presented the data on the money Turkey has spent on agricultural imports during the period when these subsidies were not provided to the Minister's attention."

JUSTICE IN TAXATION

Stating that they drew attention to the issue of justice in taxation, Karatepe said, "We also shared the need to ensure justice in taxation and for people to pay taxes in proportion to their economic power. We stated that there is no justice in taxation in Turkey today. We made some suggestions to the Minister regarding making regulations."

Karatepe stated that 2 billion liras are collected in taxes every month from the lowest income group, adding, "We expressed that this is unacceptable."

TÜİK DATA

Noting that they made suggestions to Minister Şimşek regarding TÜİK data, Karatepe said:

"If you want to eliminate doubts about TÜİK data, form a committee of academics and experts in the field, such as an independent 'advisory board' or 'arbitration board', so that they can examine TÜİK data transparently and help eliminate hesitations."

Karatepe expressed that he "did not get the impression that the minimum wage would be increased" during his meeting with Mehmet Şimşek.

Yalçın Karatepe said, "We did not work on an economic program with the government. We expressed 4 main topics in more detail."

INTERIM HIKE FOR MINIMUM WAGE

Karatepe said, "We conveyed our demand for a raise for the minimum wage and pensioners. However, at the end of 4 hours, we saw that there is no will to change their approach, which continues to impose the bitter pill on the citizens."

WHAT HAPPENED?

The decision for Şimşek to meet with the CHP delegation was made during the meeting between President and AKP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and CHP Chairman Özgür Özel at the CHP Headquarters.