Kilicdaroglu promises to raise civil servant minimum salary to 2.5 times the minimum wage

The opposition’s joint presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu vowed to increase the minimum salary of civil servants to 2.5 times the minimum wage, if he comes to power in Turkey’s elections scheduled for May 14.

Kilicdaroglu said that the current ratio of the minimum civil servant salary to the minimum wage has fallen to 1.4, while it was 2.5 in 2012. If calculated with today's figures, the minimum civil servant salary should be at the net level of 21.265 TL, and that’s the figure he will assign if he becomes president of Turkey.

"Dear fellow civil servants. Mr. Kemal spent 27 and a half years of his life working for the state. If there is anyone who can “bring spring” to civil servants, believe me, it is Mr. Kemal," he said.

Kilicdaroglu pointed out that the problems of civil servants are not limited to salary.

“Police officers work 12-13 hours a day, which adds up to 240-250 hours per month. One of the reasons behind police suicides is this,” he said.

Moreover, Kilicdaroglu pledged to recruit 100,000 new security personnel and to put 100,000 teachers who are currently waiting for employment into classrooms, regardless of their current status as contract, temporary, or permanent employees.