Minimum wage earners await mid-year raise: Prof. Dr. Duran Bülbül announces the necessary increase!

Hazal Güven - 12punto.com.tr

The 2025 minimum wage, determined at the beginning of the year, has eroded significantly against inflation in the first 5 months of the year. While the announced figure did not satisfy the millions who live on the minimum wage—which has become the average wage in Turkey—the relentless rise in the cost of living has made making ends meet even more difficult.

With the visits made by CHP Chairman Özgür Özel to labor unions, the expectation of a mid-year raise for the minimum wage has become one of the hot topics on the agenda. There has been no official statement from the government side yet. However, Minister of Labor and Social Security Vedat Işıkhan, who answered journalists' questions in the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) recently, commented, "It is too early to talk about a mid-year raise for the minimum wage."

While the issue remains uncertain for the government, CHP Chairman Özgür Özel has completed his meetings with the DİSK, Türk-İş, and Hak-İş unions. In his statements, Özel indicated that they would fight throughout June for a mid-year raise to be implemented for the minimum wage.

12punto put the debate that concerns millions on the table, both by extending the microphone to citizens and by obtaining the evaluations of public economist Prof. Dr. Duran Bülbül on the subject. According to Bülbül, who says he "does not think the government will implement a mid-year raise," "the minimum wage should be around at least 50 thousand TL when real inflation data is taken into account."

News Source : Hazal Güven