Is an interim minimum wage hike coming? AKP's Elitaş makes 'calculate with Bitcoin' remark

As high inflation and rising living costs persist in the Turkish economy, new assessments regarding inflation targets have come from the ruling party.

AKP Deputy Chairman Mustafa Elitaş stated that energy prices and ongoing wars could lead many countries to revise their inflation forecasts.

Elitaş noted that regional conflicts and rising energy costs are creating pressure on many economies, including Turkey.

EMPHASIS ON DEVIATIONS IN OIL CALCULATIONS

Speaking to Ekonomim, Elitaş said that the economic management and the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey based their 2026 projections on oil prices at the level of 60-65 dollars per barrel, but that current figures have exceeded these forecasts.

Reminding that the sliding scale system (Eşel Mobil) is in effect to limit cost increases in the domestic market, Elitaş stated that efforts are being made to control the reflections of rising global logistics costs on the domestic market.

MINIMUM WAGE INTERIM HIKE DEBATE

Evaluating the demands for an interim minimum wage hike, Elitaş argued that bringing this issue to the agenda early could negatively affect the market.

Elitaş used the following expressions in his statement:

“These matters are evaluated by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance and the Ministry of Labor and Social Security. With the fourth month of the year just beginning, such agendas can negatively affect the market. Discussing a topic that will happen months later today might please 3 million people, but it could cause something to be taken from the pockets of 83 million. Politicians might view this as populism, but politicians with an economist identity cannot do this.”

Elitaş also made assessments regarding CHP Chairman Özgür Özel, stating that the issue should be handled with different methods.

PROPOSAL TO CALCULATE VIA BITCOIN

Elitaş also reacted to Özgür Özel's example of the loss of value in the minimum wage through gold.

Arguing that different comparison methods are not correct in his statement, Elitaş suggested calculating via Bitcoin and used the following expressions:

“It is not correct to evaluate with gold or similar commodities. Bitcoin emerged in 2005-2006. It was 1 cent at that time, today it is around 65 thousand dollars. The minimum wage and the lowest pension can be calculated via Bitcoin. It is not correct to compare with assets like Ethereum and Ripple either. One needs to look at inflation rates.”

Elitaş also reminded that the minimum wage was 184 liras in 2002.

'GAS CYLINDER ECONOMY' AND PURCHASING POWER COMPARISON

Elitaş also made assessments regarding purchasing power. Arguing that comparisons with past years will not always yield correct results, Elitaş stated that periodic consumption habits have changed.

Giving examples regarding the year 2002, Elitaş stated that calculations were made based on the consumption of 12-kilogram gas cylinders, electricity, and diesel at that time. However, he said that consumption habits have changed today and some items have differentiated in daily life.

Also making a comparison based on bread prices, Elitaş stated that bread was 15 kuruş in 2002 and has reached 15 liras today, and expressed that the increase rates in the minimum wage should be evaluated together with these changes.

ASSESSMENT OF PRICES AND WELFARE LEVEL

Elitaş argued that the welfare level and consumption habits have changed over the years, and therefore some product-based comparisons could be misleading.