Unconventional broadcast on A Haber: Minimum wage criticized! 'Regarding the country's decline...'

The minimum wage that will be in effect for 2025 has been set at 22,104 TL. AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan argued that they have not allowed employees to be crushed by inflation.

While millions of workers condemned to a starvation wage were disappointed by the announced minimum wage, unconventional remarks were made during a live broadcast on A Haber, a channel close to the government.

"WE WILL HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS AGAIN"

Evaluating the new minimum wage, journalist Mete Sohtaoğlu stated that new price hikes are coming, saying, "This is money that will be reflected in the first salaries in February... The price tags were already printed yesterday. We will see them on the shelves. Starting January 2nd, there will be automatic 2025 price hikes on certain product groups. We will see another hike in February. Another one around June-July when schools close... Schools will open and there will be another hike. We will likely have these conversations again."

"THERE IS NOTHING IN FAVOR OF THE WORKER"

Stating that the minimum wage hike is in favor of the employer, Sohtaoğlu said, "All policies implemented since the pandemic period have been in favor of the employer. There is nothing in favor of the worker."

Sohtaoğlu continued as follows:

"Which organizations in the private sector will reflect this minimum wage hike in salaries? None of them... They will lay off someone earning 25,000 TL and hire personnel for 22,000 TL, and have them work until they reach the 25,000 level again, then they will either leave on their own or be laid off. It is causing massive unemployment.

The minimum wage is not a living wage. It is a salary given to those who do not operate in any line of business and have no profession. My criticism is this: there is no point in keeping 4-year universities open. There is no point in keeping vocational schools open either.

With very simple logic, if the annual cost of a school is 1 million TL, they will spend 4 million TL in 4 years... In the end, we are in 2024 now, let's say the minimum wage will be 55,000 TL in 2028. This child will take exams after spending 4 million TL in 4 years, never mind whether they pass or not. They will receive a minimum wage of 55,000 TL. If they deposited that 4 million TL in the bank, a person who could have that much income could open a kiosk for the child and their life would be saved."

"WE ARE IN A STATE OF VERY SERIOUS MORAL DECAY"

Sohtaoğlu concluded his speech with these words:

"There is another side to these issues that is not being discussed. We are in a state of very serious moral decay. There is social destruction. This is not normal. There is a food dimension to this, a malnutrition dimension, and a dimension of being unable to develop oneself. There is the issue of being unable to learn a foreign language and being unable to understand the world.

This economy is not just a minimum wage issue. It has also poisoned social relations. We are saddened that we have a pessimistic picture regarding how much the country is declining. There are other forms of destruction as well."

News Source : 12punto