A striking claim regarding the reason for the early announcement of the minimum wage.

The details of the new minimum wage shared with the public by the Minister of Labor and Social Security, Vedat Işıkhan, have become clear. Minister Işıkhan announced that the minimum wage has been set at a net of 22,104 lira for the year 2025.

TÜRK-İŞ DID NOT ATTEND THE MEETING

The Board of Directors of TÜRK-İŞ announced that they did not attend today's meeting of the Minimum Wage Determination Commission on the grounds that it was "held without any information being provided." In a statement from TÜRK-İŞ, it was noted that the Minimum Wage Determination Commission, which started its work on December 10, has met three times, and in these meetings, neither the government nor the employers' side made any proposals. The statement included the following:

"To date, neither the government nor the employers have made any proposal in response to TÜRK-İŞ's offer. The Minimum Wage Determination Commission has been called to a meeting for a decision on the evening of December 24, 2024. The Board of Directors of TÜRK-İŞ has decided not to attend the meeting held without any information regarding the minimum wage proposal."

WHY WAS THE MINIMUM WAGE ANNOUNCED THIS EVENING?

While the announcement of the minimum wage increase for 2025 is expected in the coming days, the surprise decision to announce it this evening has raised questions.

CHP Deputy Chairman and Economist Yalçın Karatepe stated on his social media account regarding the new minimum wage, "They hurriedly gathered and announced a very low minimum wage, paving the way for the Central Bank to lower interest rates on Thursday," he said.

Economist Artunç Kocabalkan stated, "The minimum wage is expected to be 30%, and interest rate cuts are certain tomorrow. Then the President will give another 5%, both inflation will rise and the pensioners' income will erode in a year. Let's see how much of a reduction will please the stock market," he said.