The process to determine Turkey’s minimum wage for 2026 has begun. The net minimum wage currently stands at 22,104 Turkish liras. The government and employers are considering an increase in the range of 20 to 30 percent, raising expectations that the new wage will fall between 26,000 and 30,000 Turkish liras.
The Minimum Wage Determination Commission was set to convene in the first week of December and announce its decision at the end of the month. However, worker representatives stress that the proposed rate is far from sufficient.
Mehmet Bozgeyik, Co-Spokesperson of the Labour Commission of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), said the current structure of the commission must be democratized. He added that an increase of around 25 percent would remain below the hunger threshold.
Mehmet Türkmen, President of the United Textile, Weaving, Leather and Apparel Workers’ Union (BIRTEKSEN), said the government has been devaluing labour and reducing real wages, while workers, who have been unable to recover losses caused by inflation and low raises in recent years, are demanding an increase of at least 100 percent. He added that the union bureaucracy has also been suppressing these demands.
Nihat Demir, Secretary General of the Revolutionary Construction Workers’ Union (Dev-Yapı-Iş), said the current minimum wage has made workers’ lives unsustainable, with housing and food costs soaring. He emphasized that society must stand shoulder to shoulder with unions in the struggle for fair wages.
The commission must be democratized
Mehmet Bozgeyik offered the following assessment regarding the ongoing minimum wage debate:
“The process of determining the minimum wage has been discussed for a long time. Problems persist because the current budget does not allocate a sufficient share to workers. For 2026, the projected rate of re-evaluation stands at 25 percent. Such an increase appears likely to remain below the hunger threshold.
First and foremost, the Minimum Wage Determination Commission must be democratized. At the moment, there are five employer representatives, five government representatives, and five representatives from the Turkish Confederation of Trade Unions (Türk-Iş). Since the majority lies with employers and the government, the final figure always reflects what they foresee. Even if the minister proposes reducing government representation to one, the majority would still remain with them.
Apart from Türk-Iş, there is also Hak-Iş and other confederations. We demand that the structure be democratized, participatory and transparent, and grounded in scientific criteria. This is crucial because in Turkey the minimum wage has effectively become the average wage. In Europe it is an independent base wage, whereas here 50 to 60 percent of workers are employed at the minimum wage.”
‘Budget for bread and peace’ campaign
Bozgeyik also outlined the DEM Party’s budget work and demands: “Because of high inflation, rising poverty and the depreciation of the Turkish lira, the process of determining the minimum wage for 2026 carries even greater importance. That is why, as the DEM Party, we have launched an initiative under the title ‘Budget for Bread and Peace’. It will conclude on 14 December with a four-route march to Ankara.
Our aim is to ensure that resources are not allocated to capital, militarization or interest payments, but to workers, minimum wage earners, women, tradespeople, young people, people with disabilities and students. Today the poverty threshold has reached 96,000 Turkish liras. If two people in a household are working, the total income entering that home must at least exceed the poverty line. For this reason, we demand that the minimum wage be raised to at least half of the poverty threshold, meaning 46,000 Turkish liras.
We also call for the minimum wage to be increased twice a year and updated every three months in line with inflation. We want to carry out this struggle together with trade unions and workers.”
A raise in the 20 percent range will not even compensate the losses
Mehmet Türkmen, President of the BIRTEKSEN, offered the following assessment of the minimum wage debate, saying the government’s policies have been continuously reducing workers’ real wages:
“The discussion of a 20 to 25 percent increase in the minimum wage has been on the agenda for a long time. This rate reflects both the figures voiced by international financial circles and the government’s plan to further reduce wages with a raise that remains even below the Turkish Statistical Institute’s (TÜIK) inflation rate. In recent years, all wage increases have remained below real inflation. Last year, the raise was even below TÜIK’s own inflation figure. The increases granted to public workers, civil servants and labourers have similarly stayed below inflation.
Today we are facing the lowest real wages in Turkey’s history. A raise in the range of twenty percent would not even be enough to compensate for the losses workers have already suffered. In the coming year, starting with the minimum wage, all wages will erode even further and labour will become even cheaper.”
The aim is to suppress wages and cheapen labour
Türkmen continued, stating that the government’s economic policies are designed to devalue labour:
“With Mehmet Şimşek’s programme, the government’s method has been to suppress wages and cheapen labour. The minimum wage increase does not only affect minimum wage earners; it directly impacts millions of workers. These raises erode all wages even further against inflation and lead to deeper poverty and misery.
Workers actually believe that, even just to compensate for the losses caused by inflation and low raises over the past few years, there must be an increase of at least over 100 percent. But since they think this is not achievable, more modest demands of around 50 to 60 percent are being voiced. Yet even these demands are unlikely to be met. This situation creates a sense of resignation among workers.
It is understandable for an individual worker to feel hopeless; but it is unacceptable for trade unions and labour organizations to surrender to this reality. Türk-Iş’s statement that they ‘will not take part in the negotiations’ shows that the union bureaucracy has accepted the government’s low-wage policy.”
Organizing the struggle is essential
Mehmet Türkmen emphasized that the minimum wage is decisive for collective bargaining agreements and issued a call to mobilize:
“The minimum wage is the largest collective bargaining agreement in Turkey. The raise that will be made determines the wages of workers, retirees and civil servants as well. For this reason, militant trade unions, labour organizations and workers must rise up.
The march organized by the Gebze Unions’ Platform was significant; a similar example emerged in Çorlu. We have begun holding worker meetings, and in Antep we are discussing with other unions the possibility of organizing a major march at the end of December. We are distributing leaflets and holding meetings.
But the picture will not change through the efforts of unions with limited membership alone. Trade unions with tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of members must mobilize their workers. Organizing this struggle is essential.”
Trade unions must be pushed into action
Türkmen also sharply criticized the statements of Türk-Iş President Ergün Atalay and said:
“Ergün Atalay once said, ‘Our members do not work for the minimum wage.’ This is mocking the working class. Even if his members are not minimum wage earners, the raise affects all wages. Even the ceiling for severance pay is determined according to the minimum wage. He cannot be unaware of this; he is treating workers as if they are foolish.
Employers act the same way, saying, ‘The state gave this much, I cannot give more.’ They feel comfortable because there is no workers’ movement capable of holding them accountable for this betrayal. Trade unionists who fail to turn the minimum wage issue into a field of struggle and who do not mobilize their organized power are betraying not only their own members but the entire working class. This is why trade unions must be pushed into action and compelled to move.”
Even 150,000 would not be enough because inflation keeps changing
Nihat Demir, Secretary General of the Dev-Yapı-Iş affiliated with the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DISK), also commented on the minimum wage debate. Demir emphasized that current economic conditions have made workers’ lives unsustainable and said:
“If there is anyone who can make ends meet on the minimum wage, let them come and explain it to society. Even with a one-hundred-percent increase, a single person cannot cover their needs. Forget families with two or three children, even one person cannot meet their basic expenses. When we look at rents, even the worst homes cost twice the minimum wage. So, what will this person eat, how will they bring bread home, how will they send their child to school?
DISK’s long-standing campaign ‘Justice in Income, Justice in Taxation’ is important at this point. But many institutions still base their calculations on TÜIK data. Yet these figures have no reflection in society, not in the marketplace, not in the bazaar, not in households. Whether they say one hundred thousand or one hundred and fifty thousand for the minimum wage, it does not mean anything, because prices and inflation are constantly changing. People can no longer afford fuel, cannot pay rent, cannot meet basic household needs. For this reason, it is impossible to determine the minimum wage once a year; it must be updated continuously.”
Constant violations of rights are taking place
Demir also drew attention to the harsh conditions and the loss of rights experienced by workers and said: “The people who create the value of this country are the labourers. There are thousands of construction projects, offering comfort and luxury to those who will live in them, yet the workers who build them stay in the worst rooms, houses or shacks. They build the roads with their labour, but they do not receive what they deserve. In the earthquake-hit region, construction workers’ wages are paid two or three months late. Workers constantly lose their rights; workplace deaths and accidents are increasing. This is because they cannot make ends meet and are forced to work long hours. This exhaustion and depletion lead to accidents.
The minimum wage being at this level pushes workers even further into hardship. Not twenty-five percent, even a one-hundred-percent increase would not meet the needs of a worker or their children. It is not realistic to expect anything from the government. A large part of society must come together, with the opposition and with trade unions and struggle collectively.”
There is a problem of democracy, freedom and equality
Nihat Demir also pointed beyond economic hardship to the lack of democracy and freedom and said: “Unfortunately, for many years this country has faced a problem of democracy, freedom and equality. If the peace process had not existed over the past year, we would have encountered far more severe conditions. Because the cost of war policies is always placed on the shoulders of society. Remember Erdoğan’s words: ‘A bullet costs one thousand liras.’ This is why peace must be supported.
Workers and society as a whole must be able to live equally and freely with all ethnic identities and all peoples. I hope that such an environment will move the country forward.”