DİSK-AR Report: “The Government Imposes Any Minimum Wage It Wants”

The DİSK Research Center (DİSK-AR) has released its 2026 minimum wage report, revealing widespread impoverishment among workers and exposing what it describes as fundamental structural failures in Turkey’s wage-setting system. The report argues that before debating the composition of the Minimum Wage Commission, “binding rules must be defined and written into law.”

DİSK-AR stresses that the minimum wage has effectively become the average wage for nearly half of society, a sign of severe labor-market distortion. The report states, “In Turkey, the minimum wage is not determined by any rule. The government imposes whatever minimum wage it wants.”

Two Key Principles Proposed for a New Minimum Wage Model

The report proposes a new regulatory framework built on two essential rules:

1. “The minimum wage must be calculated based not only on the worker but also on their dependents (household or family), taking minimum living needs into account. This requirement must be written into the legislation.”

2. “The minimum wage must be determined through collective bargaining, based on the general wage level and economic growth.”

DİSK-AR argues that a rule-based system would prevent arbitrary decisions and anchor wage discussions in measurable socioeconomic criteria.

“A Minimum of 60% of GDP Per Capita Is Reasonable”

The report highlights the long-term decline in the minimum wage’s share of per capita GDP.
It notes: “In 1999, 2004, and 2016, the minimum wage equaled around 60% of per capita GDP. Today, it has fallen to 43.6%.”

Referring to projections in the Medium-Term Program, DİSK-AR estimates the monthly per capita GDP in 2026 to be 75,000 TL, emphasizing that wage calculations can be anchored to this figure.

The conclusion: “Targeting at least 60% is highly reasonable.”

Commission Must Become a Technical Body

The report underscores that the Minimum Wage Commission must operate as a technical institution, stating:
“The commission should be the body that performs these calculations. The rules for determining the minimum wage must be included in legislation.”

DİSK-AR notes that even TÜİK no longer provides data to the Commission, describing the current process as “completely arbitrary.”

“Real Solution Lies in Expanding Collective Bargaining”

Rather than relying on the minimum wage for income protection, DİSK-AR argues the real solution is expanding the scope of collective bargaining agreements (CBAs):
“The real issue is reducing the number of workers paid at the minimum wage level and determining wage levels through collective bargaining.”

The report cites that workers covered by CBAs earn 39.5% higher gross monthly wages, and the difference climbs to 54% when social benefits are included.

Expanding collective bargaining, it argues, would improve working and living conditions for all wage earners—not only unionized workers.

Minimum Wage’s Share of National Income Has Collapsed

The report presents alarming historical data:
“The minimum wage equaled 80.6% of per capita national income in 1974. By 2025, it has fallen to 43.6%.”

This drop continued under the AK Party government, indicating the relative impoverishment of minimum-wage earners.

DİSK-AR calculated that because the government did not implement a mid-year raise in 2025, workers experienced an annual loss of purchasing power of 50,000 TL.

“If official inflation ends the year at 33.8%, the minimum wage loss will reach 7,471 TL,” the report says.

Minimum Wage Falls Below Hunger Line

The October 2025 net minimum wage of 22,104 TL fell below the hunger line of 26,925 TL, as calculated by the Birleşik Metal-İş Research Center.
By December 2025, the minimum wage will be 18% below the hunger line and 76.2% below the poverty line, the report states.

Women and Informal Workers Severely Disadvantaged

The findings reveal significant inequalities:

• 60.1% of women earn no more than the minimum wage.

• 40% of informal workers earn less than half the minimum wage.

• More than 90% of informal women workers are paid at or below the minimum wage.

“Minimum Wage Increases Do Not Trigger Inflation”

DİSK-AR rejects the government’s frequent claim that wage increases fuel inflation:
“The wage-price spiral argument is false. The opposite is true: Turkey faces a price-wage spiral.”

The report notes that despite substantial minimum wage increases in 2016 and 2023, inflation fell during both years.
“Minimum wage increases do not trigger inflation. Turkey’s recent data clearly show this.”

Europe Gap Widens; Turkey Falls Behind

In 2015, 14 European countries had a lower minimum wage than Turkey (in euro terms).
By 2025, only two will remain below Turkey.

Turkey now trails countries such as Poland, Romania, and Hungary.
Over the past decade, Turkey’s average annual growth in the euro-denominated minimum wage has been just 2.8%.

Tax System Deepens Worker Losses

The report also highlights structural flaws in Turkey’s tax system:

• In 2000, the first income tax bracket equaled 22 times the minimum wage.

• In 2025, the ratio fell to 6.1 times, dragging workers into higher brackets sooner.

DİSK-AR notes that employers received over 777 billion TL in SGK premium support between 2010 and 2025 and demands that similar support be offered directly to workers.