The expected day for the minimum wage increase has arrived.

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Negotiations are ongoing for the minimum wage that will be valid in 2025. The Minimum Wage Determination Commission, which held its first meeting on December 10, had its second meeting on December 16. No figures were mentioned in the first two meetings where the views of both the worker and employer sides were conveyed. The commission will meet for the third time.

TÜRK-İŞ IS MEETING URGENTLY

Before the minimum wage meeting, TÜRK-İŞ will hold a Presidents' Council Meeting today. The agenda of the meeting, which will be held at the TÜRK-İŞ General Center, will be the minimum wage. The meeting, chaired by TÜRK-İŞ General President Ergün Atalay, will discuss TÜRK-İŞ's stance in the minimum wage negotiations. Opinions will be gathered from the managements of the unions affiliated with TÜRK-İŞ regarding the minimum wage. If an agreement cannot be reached in the minimum wage negotiations, the roadmap that the confederation will follow will be determined.

EMPLOYER REPRESENTATIVE WILL COME TO THE TABLE WITH A FIGURE

The minimum wage increase meeting will be held today at 11:30 AM at the Ministry of Labor and Social Security. TÜRK-İŞ had previously stated that they were expecting a figure in earlier meetings, but no figure had come from the employer representative TİSK. In the meeting to be held today under the chairmanship of Minister of Labor and Social Security Vedat Işıkhan, it is expected that the employer representative will come to the table with a figure.

WILL THE COMMISSION REACH A "COMPROMISE"?

The figure that the employer representative will bring to the table and the reaction that TÜRK-İŞ will give are being closely followed. It will become clear in the coming hours whether a compromise will come from the Minimum Wage Determination Commission or if TÜRK-İŞ will walk away from the table. Statements from government representatives indicate that employees will not be crushed by inflation. However, messages are also being given that there should be no disruption in the economic program.

ERDOĞAN: WE WILL RAISE IT TO THE BEST POSSIBLE LEVEL

President Erdoğan, in a statement regarding the minimum wage increase, said, "We desire to raise the situation of fixed-income earners to the best possible level without disrupting the economic program from which we have started to reap the fruits. Because especially in recent years, the group most adversely affected by the exorbitant price increases in basic necessities is fixed-income earners." Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek stated, "We did not let our employees and retirees be crushed by inflation, and we will not. Our goal in this program remains unchanged."

MINISTER IŞIKHAN'S BALANCE MESSAGE

After the first meeting, Minister of Labor and Social Security Vedat Işıkhan had given a "balance" message. He stated that they hope to determine a figure that satisfies both the worker and the employer, saying, "As a government representative, we are keeping the scales of justice balanced. In this context, we hope to determine a minimum wage that will satisfy the parties by analyzing in detail issues such as inflation, purchasing power, labor market needs, growth, and employment. We aim to determine a wage that will provide maximum benefit for both the worker and the employer."

AVERAGE INFLATION FORMULA

Following these statements, the "average inflation" formula for the minimum wage has come to the forefront. The Central Bank's year-end inflation forecast is 44%. The inflation forecast for the end of 2025 is 21%. It has been suggested that the increase should be made based on the average of the year-end and target inflation.

HOW MUCH WILL THE MINIMUM WAGE BE?

Based on this formula, a 32.5% increase emerges. According to the 32.5% increase, the minimum wage will rise to 22,527 lira. However, it is expected that President Erdoğan will make a touch to the rate determined at the table. It is rumored that Erdoğan could raise the increase to between 35-40%. If a 35% increase is made, the minimum wage will be 22,952 lira, and if a 40% increase is made, it will be 23,802 lira.

Here are the possible increase scenarios for the minimum wage:

• 32.5%: 22,527 lira
• 35%: 22,952 lira
• 36%: 23,122 lira
• 37%: 23,292 lira
• 38%: 23,462 lira
• 39%: 23,632 lira
• 40%: 23,802 lira
• 41%: 23,973 lira
• 42%: 24,143 lira
• 43%: 23,313 lira
• 44%: 24,483 lira
• 45%: 24,653 lira
• 46%: 24,823 lira
• 47%: 24,993 lira
• 48%: 25,163 lira
• 49%: 25,333 lira
• 50%: 25,503 lira