Opposition slams Erdogan for minimum wage hike
On Friday, Turkey raised the minimum wage for the second time in a year. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the 30 percent hike himself. Staying true to his character, Erdogan highlighted the measures his government took since the end of 2020 in order to protect the public against soaring inflation. But his sugar-coated words fell on deaf ears. Opposition leaders took to social media within minutes of Erdogan’s announcement. Many found the otherwise substantial increase to be insufficient.
Meral Aksener, founder and head of the Good Party, smote Erdogan on Twitter. She said, “The government that could only raise the minimum wage to the hunger threshold at the beginning of the year and announce it as “good news” failed to do even that this time.
A government that is unable to protect its people against inflation is politically bankrupt. This means that the time for ballot boxes has come.”
Yılın başında asgari ücreti ancak açlık sınırına eşitleyip; “müjdeler olsun” diye veren iktidar, bu sefer onu bile yapamadı.
— Meral Akşener (@meral_aksener) July 1, 2022
Milletini enflasyona karşı koruyamayan bir iktidar siyaseten iflas etmiş, sandık zamanı gelmiş demektir.
The spokesperson of the main opposition party CHP, the Republican People’s Party, Faik Oztrak also criticized Erdogan. Referencing Erdogan’s slip of the tongue when announcing the minimum wage hike and his self-identification as an economist, Oztrak said “those who call themselves “economists” can’t even do basic math to calculate the minimum wage hike accurately. But the fake economist is so desperate that he announces the wage hike that leaves those who earn minimum wage under the inflation himself. The people will hold you accountable for this when the ballot comes. The end is inevitable.”
Kendilerine "ekonomistim" diyenler daha dört işlem yapıp, asgari ücrete yapılan zammı hesaplayamıyor.
— Faik Öztrak (@faikoztrak) July 1, 2022
Ama çakma ekonomist o kadar çaresiz ki asgari ücretliyi enflasyona ezdiren bir zam oranını bile kendisi açıklıyor.
Millet sandıkta bunun hesabını soracak.
Geliyor gelmekte olan.
Sera Kadigil, a deputy of the Workers’ Party of Turkey, accused Erdogan and the AKP government of pushing half of Turkey to starvation. In a quote tweet, she stated that “Half the country earns minimum wage. They’re pushing half the country below the hunger threshold. It is hard enough to endure the hell they have created for a week, let alone a month.”
Ülkenin yarısı asgari ücretli. Ülkenin yarısını açlık sınırı altına yani AÇLIĞA mahkum ediyorlar!
— Sera Kadıgil (@serakadigil) July 1, 2022
Yarattıkları cehennemde bu paraya değil 1 ay, 1 hafta yaşamak bile mesele!
Hayır efendiler #MutabıkDeğiliz
Bu halktan çaldığınız her kuruşun hesabını sormadan mutabık olmayacağız! https://t.co/3JnkBN2qyp
The official annual inflation rate of Turkey is 73.5 percent, with many independent economists calculating the actual rate to be well above one hundred percent. The Turkish Lira has lost half its value against the US dollar in the past twelve months.