Minimum wage must be increased immediately
In Turkey, the minimum wage has long ceased to be a floor and has become the average wage. With trade union rights under constant pressure, millions of workers are forced to survive on or around the minimum wage.
This wage, already inadequate, continues to be eroded by soaring inflation. According to September figures, minimum wage earners have lost 5,621 TL in real value during the first nine months of 2025. For months, the minimum wage has remained below the poverty line.
The government unilaterally increased the minimum wage for 2025 by only 30 percent, despite official inflation standing at 44.4 percent in 2024. This decision left workers significantly behind even the official inflation rate. Despite repeated demands, the Minimum Wage Commission was not reconvened in July, and millions of workers have been left to endure the cost-of-living crisis with wages that are simply not enough to live on.
We therefore call on the Minister of Labour and Social Security to immediately convene the Minimum Wage Commission and set a new, fair minimum wage without waiting until December. The government must correct this injustice without further delay.
At the same time, recent debates have highlighted the undemocratic structure of the Minimum Wage Commission itself. DİSK reiterates its long-standing position: the current tripartite system is based on government–employer cooperation, leaving workers effectively excluded from genuine bargaining. The minimum wage must be determined through real collective bargaining at the national level, and workers must have the right to take collective action in the event of a dispute, as in all genuine negotiations.
In line with international labour standards, minimum wage calculations must take into account not only the worker but also their dependents and family responsibilities.
The government’s approach to wages reveals the kind of country they envision — one where those who create all value are condemned to poverty while Turkey is presented as a haven for cheap and insecure labour.
The minimum wage issue is therefore not only an economic question but a matter of social justice and democracy. Turkey must not remain a country of minimum wage earners. The only way to break this cycle of inequality is through unionisation and collective organisation.
DİSK calls on all workers, all our brothers and sisters in the labour movement, to join unions, to join DİSK, and to stand together for fairness, dignity and decent work for all.
