Minimum wage

The Turkish government will cover some 40 percent of the cost of a hike in the minimum wage for 8.5 million employees  due to come into effect on the first day of the new year but only for 2016, Labor and Social Security Minister Süleyman Soylu said in a meeting early Dec. 30. 

The Turkish government will cover some 40 percent of the cost of a hike in the minimum wage due to come into effect on the first day of the new year but only for 2016, Labor and Social Security Minister Süleyman Soylu said early Dec. 30.

At its regular meeting on Wednesday, the Bulgarian government approved the increase of the minimum working wage to BGN 420 starting from January 1 next year.

The increase is expected to motivate job seekers and to ensure that people receiving the minimum wage and their families are able to better satisfy their needs.

Turkish small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will lose over 60 percent of their profits unless the state shares the burden from the expected raise in the minimum wage, the head of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) said in an exclusive interview with daily Hürriyet. 

Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu said the burden from the planned minimum wage raise will be shared between the state and the private sector in a speech on Dec. 19. 

The planned raise in the minimum wage will make around 0.4 points contribution to Turkey's gross domestic product (GDP) growth, Economy Minister Mustafa Elita? said in a televised interview on Dec. 18.

The government will raise the minimum wage in Turkey to 1,300 Turkish Liras per month ($446) from the current 1,000 liras ($343), Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu announced on Dec. 10.

Ankara will also provide help to employers in adopting the wage hike, with Davuto?lu particularly pledging to reduce the burden on small- and medium-sized enterprises.

The Minimum Wage Determination Commission will meet on Dec. 2 to discuss the planned rise in the wage of around 6 million workers in Turkey.

The government has planned to help employers in facilitating the planned minimum wage raise, said the Science, Industry and Technology Minister Fikri I??k in a televised interview. 

Turkey's leading conservative business association has suggested that the burden expected to be created by the rise in the minimum wage should be shared equally with the state.