Employment compensation

The plan to not reduce the minimum wage due to the rise in income taxes will cost the state budget 1 billion Turkish Liras ($336 million), said a top official in a televised interview on Sept. 21. 

Despite the pensioner’s patience, IKA’s deficit is doubled by the reduction of Government Funding. The administration of the Social Security Foundation (IKA) revealed that the deficit will be 2.1 Billion Euros for 2016, from 950 millions  last year.

The Turkish cabinet has pledged to not decrease the minimum wage due to the increasing cuts in incomes, said a leading official on Sept. 19. 

Turkey raised the minimum wage by 30 percent to 1,300 Turkish Liras ($436) for over 8 million workers at the beginning of the year.

The new method of recalculating more than 1 million auxiliary pensions has brought with it errors that are costing pensioners dearly.

The three-year budget forecast envisages a gradual increase of the minimum monthly wage to BGN 460 during 2017 as well, stated Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov.

Despite the Greek PM Alexis Tsipras’s claim that he had managed to ’square the circle’ during his speech at the Thessaloniki International Fair, Sunday, the numbers paint a different story regarding the cuts in pensions. Half of the Greek pensioners (1.2 million) saw a cuts in their meagre incomes ranging from a few Euros to 230 Euros (abolition of the EKAS benefit).

A salary and pension increase should be considered carefully, Fiscal Council member Vladimir Vuckovic has said.

This time next year - when the 2018 budget is to be established - could be the time to think about that, he said.

Following the uproar caused by revelations that thousands of ancillary pensions were in danger of totally disappearing as a result of retroactive deductions in three instalments, the government has backtracked and plans to place a limit on the deductions.

Labour Minister George Katrougalos admitted that ancillary pensions were slashed by 40% during an interview on state broadcaster ERT, Wednesday. Katrougalos explained that this came about as a result of an imbalance between contributions and benefits.

Tens of thousands of workers who have secured the right to retirement ahave rushed to submit their pension applications before new social security reform measures go into effect. Experts estimate that at least 40,000 retirement applications have been submitted by civil servants and private sector employees from the start of the year to April.