Erdoğan says he requested minimum wage to be adjusted

President Erdoğan has said he asked the Labor and Social Security Ministry to adjust the minimum wage, while announcing an oil discovery in the southern province of Adana.

Tuesday June 28 2022 02:17 pm

Duvar English

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on June 27 he has asked the Labor and Social Security Ministry to adjust the national minimum wage for a second time this year, as citizens struggle to keep up with soaring inflation.

“The labor minister will come together with the Minimum Wage Commission and they will finish this work before the end of this week,” Erdoğan said after a cabinet meeting.

Erdoğan claimed that inflation would be brought down to a “reasonable” and lower level as of February and March 2023. “We want a little more patience from our nation,” Erdoğan added.

Turkey hiked its minimum wage in December 2021 by a massive 50 percent to 4,250 liras ($256) per month in the wake of a currency crash and inflation spike.

In May, the country's annual inflation hit a two-decade high of 73.5 percent, with debates that an adjustment could be made mid-year to offset surging living costs. Independent economists say inflation is undercounted and is actually above 150 percent.

Erdoğan also announced that Turkey discovered high-quality oil in the southern province of Adana.

“We discovered high-quality oil in two wells in Adana where we conducted exploration. The reserve value has been calculated as approximately 1 billion dollars,” he said.

Erdoğan also stressed that Turkey will carry out new operations in Syria.

"We will start new operations as soon as our preparations for the security corridor we have started on our Syrian border are finished," Erdoğan stated.