Metin Yetim
The minimum wage, which fell below the hunger limit the moment it was announced at the beginning of the year, melted away during the first 5 months of the year. A DİSK-AR research paper laid bare the scale of the cumulative loss in labour incomes.
Research Centre of the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Türkiye (DISK-AR) published its May 2026 Wage Losses Monitoring Report. According to the report, the bill of high inflation and tax burden on worker wages reached 890 billion TL in the first 5 months of this year. The minimum-wage earner lost 4,633 TL in the first 5 months of the year. The current purchasing power of the minimum wage, which was announced as 28,075 TL at the beginning of the year, has dropped to the level of 23,442 TL.
The tax and inflation loss of the average worker's wage materialised as 15,537 TL. Workers thus worked for taxes, deductions, and inflation for at least 12 days of May. The vicinity of the minimum wage, which also expresses the wages of the majority of workers, was also featured in the report. According to the report in May, 34.6 per cent of wages at 1.5 times the minimum wage, 38.3 per cent of wages at 2 times the minimum wage, 39.4 per cent of wages at 2.5 times the minimum wage, and 41.4 per cent of wages at 3 times the minimum wage melted away due to taxes, deductions, and inflation.
While minimum-wage earners, who have become impoverished below the hunger limit due to inflation and tax deductions, were awaiting an interim raise, news was circulated by sources close to the ruling power that an interim raise would not be made to the minimum wage in July. The ruling power closing the door on an interim raise caused a reaction from labourers and retirees. While the lowest retirement pension of 20,000 TL melted away by 3,322 TL in the first 5 months of this year, 8,816 TL of the lowest public servant salary of 61,890 TL lost value through inflation.
United Metalworkers' Union (Birleşik Metal-Iş) General President Özkan Atar reacted to the announced report, saying, "They are taking from the labourer and giving to capital," while United Textile, Weaving and Leather Workers' Union (BIRTEK-SEN) Organising Specialist Mazlum Ayçiçek said, "Capital feeds on what is taken from the working class."
MISERY DROVE THE RETIREE OUT INTO THE SQUARES
Stating that the raise that needs to be made in July is vital for retirees, All Retirees' Union (Tüm Emeklilerin Sendikası) President Zeynel Abidin Ergen stated that the finalised raise difference rate remained far below the demands and said: “In the face of the high cost of living, the pensions of retirees are already insufficient. It is said that a raise will not be made to the minimum wage either, because currently no work being done by the government is visible. The minimum-wage earner is scraping by on 28,000 TL in this period when the high cost of living and inflation have peaked. Not making a raise means that the wages of these labourers will drop not to 28,000 TL but below an average of 20,000 TL until the end of the year. This situation is very bad for the minimum-wage earner.” Emphasising that retirees will never give up on the streets, Ergen said, “Among our primary demands are the grading of the lowest retirement pension by equating it to the lowest civil servant salary, and a raise in July where retirees can breathe a sigh of relief even if just a little. Furthermore, a flat-rate raise is very important to us; we will continue to demand that on the street too.”
THE GOVERNMENT TAKES FROM THE LABOURER AND TRANSFERS TO CAPITAL
Saying that the economic policy of the regime is a system of "taking from the labourer and giving to capital", Birleşik Metal-Iş General President Özkan Atar also commented on the inflation and tax losses. Atar used the following expressions: “Currently, the economic programme implemented by the AKP under the name of lowering inflation is a programme that serves to take from millions of labourers and transfer to capital, and to transfer the taxes they deduct from the labourer to the capital class, to domestic or foreign capital monopolies under the name of incentives.” Stating that high inflation, the high cost of living, and the decline in the purchasing power of labourers continue severely in the country, Atar said that the minimum wage must be reconsidered without losing time, speaking as follows:
“Along with the raise to be made to the minimum wage, it is imperative that the wages of all employees are also increased as of July. Wages need to be pulled to a level that will meet rent and compulsory expenses, first and foremost food expenditures. The hunger limit surpassed 35,000 Liras in May. The minimum wage must be increased, and a fair tax reform must be reconsidered in a way that all labourers can breathe a sigh of relief. On the other hand, a reform and legal regulation must be made at a level where trade union rights can be implemented, which can develop first and foremost the working class's rights and freedoms of unionisation and collective bargaining.
With these demands, trade unions and first and foremost confederations, workers' and public employees' organisations, labour and pro-labour mass organisations, and political parties must absolutely come together to raise the struggle alongside a strong togetherness, a principled programme, and a strategy.”
A NEW LINK EVERY DAY TO THE ORDER OF SLAVERY
BIRTEK-SEN Organising Specialist Mazlum Ayçiçek also drew attention to the importance of the organised struggle in wage and rights demands, saying, “We need something other than just eavesdropping on the gossip. It is not just about trade unions taking part in determination commissions merely for show; before the minimum wage is announced, there is also a need for actions that will create pressure on the ruling power with the will and voice of the workers in the squares and on the streets.”
Saying that the bill of the economic crisis has been cut to the workers and labourers, Ayçiçek continued his speech as follows: “Capital, which adds wealth to its wealth with the incentives given by the ruling power and invests in other countries, usurps the severance payments of the workers. It expects workers to work longer hours, to consent to lower wages, and to accept progressively worsening living conditions. While the existing rights of the workers are usurped on grounds such as concordat and bankruptcy, the lack of inspection and the failure to take occupational health and safety measures cause workers to die or be left disabled every day. Capital and the ruling power raise the ante every day to establish the order of slavery they dream of for the workers, adding new ones to the rights usurpations and attacks.”
Underlining that in the face of all attacks targeting labour, it is necessary to unite around demands and grow the common struggle, Ayçiçek added, “The way to compensate for these losses passes through workers uniting around their own demands, organising in workplaces, and growing the common struggle.”
Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Emek düşmanlığını örgütlülük yenecek: Ücretler eriyor iktidar seyrediyor, published in BirGün newspaper on June 9, 2026.
