Raise in Turkey's minimum wage becomes irrelevant in two months
The 303 Turkish Lira raise in minimum wage from January has become irrelevant in February, Turkey's Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (Türk-İş) said. The first two months of 2020 have seen a price surge of 4.28% and the hunger threshold is set at 2,257 TL.
Duvar English
The raises in Turkey's minimum wage were established in January but have already become irrelevant in February, Turkey's Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (Türk-İş) said.
The 303 Turkish Lira (about $50) raise in minimum wage has become irrelevant in the face of a 4,38% increase in prices in the first two months of the year, said Türk-İş's research called "February 2020 Poverty Line and Hunger Threshold."
"The cost of a basket of kitchen goods has surged by 228 TL in the past year. The cost of living for a family of four has increased by 744 TL in the last year," the research said.
The research also noted the hunger threshold as 2,257 TL (about $370) and the poverty line at 7,353 TL (about $1,200).
The monthly cost of living for a single working person was set at 2,744 TL which is about $448.
"What matters to workers is the consequences of inflation, the negative effects of price rises to family budgets," said the research.
Food prices have surged beyond the consumer index, the research also revealed, noting that minimum food spending for a family of four in Ankara has increased by 1.71 percent from January.