Labor and Social Security Minister Vedat Işıkhan announced the minimum wage in Türkiye as TL 22,104 ($630.36) for 2025, up 30% from the previous year.
Işıkhan made the announcement in a news conference following the fourth meeting of the Minimum Wage Determination Commission on Tuesday.
The commission held three other meetings on Dec. 10, 16 and 19, attended by the Confederation of Turkish Labor Unions (Türk-Iş), which represented the workers and the Turkish Confederation of Employer Associations (TISK) representing employers.
The minimum wage for a worker is currently set at around TL 20,000 (around $577), gross per month, and TL 17,002 net after deductions.
Türk-Iş did not attend the latest meeting in protest, reports said.
Turkish authorities hiked the minimum wage by 49% this year but have skipped the midyear increase, unlike a year ago, while tackling inflation.
Market expectations for the January minimum wage hike stood at around 25%. Türk-Iş had requested TL 29.583, a 70% hike.
With upticks in inflation in recent years, the hikes in minimum wages were substantial. However, inflation began to drop starting in May this year, dipping to 48.58% in October 2024, according to official data.
In October, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) mission chief for the country Jim Walsh said Türkiye should avoid repeating the inflation-driving minimum wage hike. Instead, Walsh said Ankara should focus on developing social programs that would provide support for low-income households through cash transfers or through better-targeting government support to help bolster the income of workers on lower wages.
