Türkiye’s opposition media blasts finance minister over minimum wage comments

Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek’s recent comments on the minimum wage have ignited a firestorm of criticism in Türkiye’s opposition media.

Speaking on a joint broadcast by Haberturk and Bloomberg, Simsek highlighted the economic agenda, particularly focusing on the minimum wage.

Key points from Simsek’s statements:

• Minimum wage increase: Simsek emphasized that the minimum wage has increased by 5.5% in real terms over the past 20 years. He noted significant dollar-denominated growth during the Justice and Development Party (AK Party)’s tenure.
• Comparison with developing countries: He claimed that Türkiye’s minimum wage is among the highest in developing countries, though he acknowledged ongoing living cost challenges.
• Populism warning: Simsek warned against the exploitation of the minimum wage issue for populist purposes, citing a 670 billion Turkish lira cost for exempting the minimum wage from taxes.

Opposition media reactions

Cumhuriyet’s critique

Headline attack: Cumhuriyet’s front-page story, titled “Normalizing Hunger Wages,” sharply criticized Simsek’s remarks. The article included a caricature of Simsek with the caption, “We can’t always be pessimistic… Let’s see the glass half full in the economy!”

Statistics dispute: Cumhuriyet pointed out that the lauded ₺17,000 minimum wage falls short of the confederation of Turkish trade unions’ recently reported hunger threshold of 18,979 ₺ and the poverty line of ₺61,000 for a family of four.

Public outrage: The newspaper highlighted the public’s struggle with inflation and questioned how the finance minister could claim the minimum wage is not low.

Sozcu’s response

Direct challenge: Sozcu columnist Deniz Zeyrek challenged Simsek to live on the 17,002 ₺ minimum wage for a month. He proposed the finance minister should forgo the perks of office, such as living in a government residence and using a luxury car, and instead pay for rent, utilities, and family expenses within this budget.

Let’s see if you can make it through a month on this wage and then tell us if it’s high

Deniz Zeyrek

Comparison with Europe: The newspaper also refuted Simsek’s claim by noting that Türkiye lags behind countries like Croatia, Hungary and Romania in terms of minimum wage levels.

Insult to intelligence: Zeyrek criticized Simsek’s assertion that the current minimum wage is the highest in Türkiye’s history, accusing the minister of “insulting the public’s intelligence.”