The Turkish Family, Labour, and Social Services Minister Zehra Zümrüt Selçük announced at a press conference on December 28th in Ankara that the net minimum wage will increase 21.56% from the present Turkish liras 2,324.70 to TL 2,826 (USD 380) per month as of the beginning of 2021. The new gross minimum wage, before deductions for social security and income taxes, is TL 3,577.50 (USD 481).
The minimum wage increase of 21.56% is higher than the official annual inflation rate of 14.03% announced on December 3rd, 2020 for November 2020. The general public feeling is that this minimum wage increase is inadequate considering the higher inflation rate confronting the ordinary citizen in the street. Opposition political parties recommended at least TL 3,000 for the minimum wage, and the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (Türk-Iş), which has the largest number of union members, also said that the new minimum wage was inadequate. The minimum wage is very important in Turkey where half of all the working population is estimated to receive the minimum wage.
The calculation of the new minimum wage is as follows :
% TL (per month)
Gross Minimum Wage 3,577.50
Social Assurance Premium 14 500.85
Unemployment Insurance Fund 1 35.78
Balance before tax 3,040.88
Income Tax 15 456.13
Stamp Duty 0.893 27.15
Total Employee Deduction 1,019.91
Balance before
Minimum Subsistence Allowance 2,557.59
Minimum Subsistence Allowance 268.31
Net Minimum Wage 2,825.90
The above calculation is for childless single workers.
The new minimum wage is applicable for one year.
The calculation of the cost of the new minimum wage to employers is as follows :
% TL (per month)
Gross Minimum Wage 3,577.50
Social Assurance Premium
Employers’ Contribution 20.50 733.39
Employers’ Unemployment
Insurance Fund 2 71.55
SGK incentive 5 (178.88)
Total Cost to Employers 4,203.56