CHP leader pushes for 30,000 lira minimum wage

BİLECİK

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel has renewed his party’s push for a 30,000-Turkish Lira minimum wage to escalate pressure on the government ahead of upcoming discussions.

"We, as the Republican People’s Party, are continuing the big campaign we started. Our demand for the minimum wage is 30,000 liras — we will not go below that," Özel said at an event in the northwestern city of Bilecik on Dec. 5.

The minimum wage in Türkiye currently stands at 17,002 liras. A tripartite commission of workers, employers and government officials is set to begin discussions on Dec. 10 to determine the minimum wage for 2025.

Özel detailed his party’s proposal to make the wage hike feasible, including a plan to ease the burden on small businesses.

"The minimum wage is low for those who receive it and high for those who pay it," he said. "We propose providing support of 6,000 liras per employee to employers with one to 10 minimum wage earners. This is the way to make the minimum wage 30,000 liras without affecting tradespeople."

Criticizing the lowest retirement pension of 12,500 liras, Özel also invoked historical comparisons to highlight the change in the purchasing power of retirees under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s administration.

"When this government came in 2002, retirees received 1.5 times the minimum wage," he said. "This [loss] is the Erdoğan tax paid by retirees."