Poverty disguised as a pay rise!

Economy Service

The poverty of the people has been officially confirmed. TÜİK’s inflation figures have revealed the poverty of citizens. As with every raise period, millions have once again been condemned to poverty-level wages. Public sector workers and retirees, who spent the first half of 2025 in poverty, entered the second half of the year already at a loss. In other words, the 'Şimşek programme' once again gave with a spoon and took away with a ladle.

The Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) announced the inflation figures for June. Monthly inflation was 1.37 percent, while annual inflation stood at 35.05 percent. The 12-month average inflation rate was 43.23 percent.

According to TÜİK, inflation for the first six months of the year compared to last December was 10.07 percent. Pay rises for millions were based on this difference. The wages of millions, which had already eroded by thousands of liras in six months, were increased by this rate. For public employees, the raise rate combined with the 5 percent from the 7th Collective Bargaining Agreement amounted to 15.56 percent. Retired civil servants received the same increase. With these rates, the lowest civil servant salary reached 50,503 TL, and the lowest civil servant pension became 22,671 TL.

LEFT TO STARVE

The raise for SSK and Bağ-Kur retirees was 16.67 percent. For retirees with a low base pension whose benefits will be capped, the new amount was announced by AKP Group Chair Abdullah Güler. Güler stated, “We have increased the lowest pension, previously 14,669 TL, by 16.67 percent to 16,881 TL.” In effect, Güler admitted that they had standardised poverty for millions, revealing that 4,011,000 people receive the lowest pension. This figure has increased by approximately 300,000 compared to last year.

According to Türk-İş, the hunger threshold in June was 26,115 TL, and the poverty line was calculated at 85,000 TL. The AKP government, which did not even implement a mid-year raise to the minimum wage, has once again left millions in hunger.

Wages have also fallen behind rising utility bills. Annual increases were 86 percent for electricity, 60 percent for tap water, 42 percent for natural gas, and 82 percent for rent, with 6-month increases also remaining high. As a result, the wages of working people were not increased enough to cover food, bills, or housing.

ŞİMŞEK’S DIFFERENT MATHS

Mehmet Şimşek, the Finance Minister overseeing the government’s economic programme that forces citizens into poverty, told citizens with dwindling purchasing power to “rest assured.” While commenting on inflation, Şimşek claimed there was a noticeable slowdown in inflation for food, transport, education and durable consumer goods. However, the rates Şimşek referred to as a “slowdown” remain very high. The list he gave even included some of the items that saw the sharpest price increases. Among the products with the highest price hikes in June were preschool and primary education, up 6.77 percent.

Spending on university education rose by 108 percent annually, with education costs overall increasing by 73.3 percent. This month, food prices rose by 30.2 percent annually. Annual inflation in transportation was 27.72 percent.

WHO WILL RECEIVE WHAT AMOUNT?

• Lowest civil servant salary: 50,503 TL
• Lowest civil servant pension: 22,671 TL
• Lowest pension: 16,881 TL

Out of 16 million retirees, 4,011,000 will receive the lowest amount.

RAISES FOR EVERYTHING EXCEPT MINIMUM WAGE!

Despite ruling out a mid-year raise for the minimum wage again this year, the government has allowed official inflation figures which are not reflected in workers' wages, to push prices higher across all areas of consumption. From housing to natural gas, fuel to tobacco and alcohol, many essential goods and services were subject to price hikes as of July. Meanwhile, the minimum wage, already below the hunger threshold, will not be updated mid-year. As purchasing power continues to decline and “welfare share” raises are suppressed, the fact that price increases are not reflected in wages has drawn widespread public reaction.

The ceiling for residential and commercial rent increases in July has been set. According to the 12-month average, the rent increase rate was 43.23 percent. Along with inflation, the paid military service fee also increased, rising from 243,035 TL to 280,875 TL. The final figure is expected to be announced by the Ministry of National Defence in the coming days. Another item raised in July was the Special Consumption Tax (ÖTV). The ÖTV rate was adjusted based on the 6-month domestic producer price index (PPI). According to the Revenue Administration, the ÖTV on fuel, tobacco products and alcohol was increased by 15.71 percent. As a result, petrol is expected to rise by around 2.26 TL per litre, and diesel by 2.12 TL. Meanwhile, the lowest cigarette prices are expected to increase by 8 to 10 TL. The specific tax per cigarette pack rose from 10.50 TL to 12.1495 TL, and the minimum specific tax from 36.63 TL to 42.378 TL. The rise in inflation has also led to increases in disability pensions, the over-65 pension, home care support, and the severance pay ceiling. The new severance pay ceiling, expected to be announced soon by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, is projected at 53,924 TL.

LET THEM DIE SYSTEM

Retirees, whose lowest pensions weren’t even raised to 17,000 lira, turned the country into a protest ground. Demonstrating in 31 locations across the country, they declared, “If you condemn us to poverty again, you will never see power again after the next election. A government that serves only a handful of cronies cannot be a solution.”

The joint statement included the following: “The government announces low inflation each month through TÜİK. TÜİK’s inflation trickery is not independent from the government. We’ve seen this film before. As a result, pensions have dropped to historic lows and retirees have been devastated.”

THE PEOPLE WILL NOT PAY THE PRICE

TMMOB Chair Emin Koramaz commented on the inflation figures and the raise rates for retirees and civil servants: “TÜİK’s figures are fake. The poverty, hunger and misery we experience are real! As TMMOB, we will not stay silent while the massive economic burden created by the political power to ensure its own survival is imposed on the people, and the cost of the crisis is passed onto wage earners.”

THEY’VE BECOME THE BOSSES

KESK held press statements in front of TÜİK offices across the country, particularly at the headquarters in Ankara. KESK Co-Chair Ayfer Koçak, reading the statement on behalf of the confederation, also criticised the pro-government union Memur-Sen, calling it mere “window dressing.”

The statement included the following: “TÜİK has effectively become the boss of us all. The price hikes we experience in the markets, bazaars and kitchens are clear for all to see. Real inflation is obvious. But TÜİK presents whatever figure the government wants. Once again we shout out loud: these rates are pure misery in the face of the real inflation we are experiencing. Yet the government continues to boast about these poverty rates. Like a broken record, they keep repeating the refrain, ‘We haven’t let workers, civil servants, retirees or minimum wage earners be crushed by inflation.’ We are ready to fulfil our duty to defend the shared rights and interests of public workers and retirees. For this, we call on all public workers to unite without distinction to demand that the lowest public employee salary be raised above the poverty line. It is high time to say enough to those who seek to equalise us all in poverty.”

TÜİK IS A SERVANT OF THE PALACE

Birleşik Kamu-İş also made a statement in front of a TÜİK building, saying: “TÜİK uses a calculation method that even mathematical geniuses would find baffling. From an economy that declines in every sense day by day, they produce positive results. When you add 2 plus 2, the outcome is whatever number the Palace wants.”

REAL RATE IS AT THE STALLS

DİSK executives and members protested outside TÜİK, stating that the inflation figures do not reflect reality, and chanted “Tell the truth, don’t mess with our bread.”

DİSK Chair Arzu Çerkezoğlu criticised TÜİK for not releasing the inflation basket data for over two years: “Despite winning all court cases, TÜİK continues to defy judicial rulings and the Constitution by refusing to disclose this data. We will never give up this struggle. We reject TÜİK’s approach that tramples laws and our rights.”

Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Zam görünümlü sefalet oranı!, published in BirGün newspaper on July 4, 2025.