Turkey's ruling AKP must adopt sliding scale system in crisis: CHP deputy leader
ANKARA
Turkey’s economy is dragging into “stagflation,” CHP deputy leader Aykut Erdoğdu warned, urging the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to protect waged workers against high inflation and currency fluctuation by adopting a sliding scale system for wages.
“Within the crisis the Turkish economy is in right now, wages should be adopted to the monthly inflation. It means there should be a return to a sliding scale system, and the monthly wages of both minimum waged workers and private sector workers should be adopted to inflation rates,” Erdoğdu said in a press conference on Sept. 4.
His comment came after Turkey’s Statistical Institute announced that consumer prices rose 17.9 percent in August, as the annual inflation rate has hit a record since late 2003. Producer prices leaped 32.13 percent, a separate TÜİK statement showed.
The CHP deputy leader said the middle class would be “hit by the inflation,” urging the government to adopt economic policies that would not further victimize the low social segments.
“Public workers were told inflation would be 3 percent in the second quarter and there would be a 3.5 percent rise in wages. Right now, almost 6 months’ worth of inflation has been realized and waged workers are crushed under this inflation,” Erdoğdu said, proposing wages should be adopted to monthly inflation.
He warned Turkey’s economy would enter “stagflation,” where there will be high inflation and stagnation at the same time, stating that the “burden of the devastating effects of stagnation will be taken from people.”
“We understand from the government’s statements, we understand that the burden of this crisis will be taken out of the worker segments when interclass distribution of the crisis is considered,” Erdoğdu said.
“They [AKP] will put extra taxes, lower wages, workers will impoverished and public services will be cut. They will try to put the burden on us but we will prevent it. We will make demonstrations, we will go to the streets against it,” he said.