The first meeting on the minimum wage effective in 2026 will be held today. This year, before the salary increase negotiations, the committee's membership structure caused a lot of controversy. Türk-İş continued its determination by announcing that it would not join the committee if this structure continued.
The process of determining a new minimum wage has begun for the Minimum Wage Setting Committee, which is made up of workers, employers and government representatives. The first meeting of the committee will be held today.
Last week, the Ministry of Labor and Social Security invited Türk-İş, representing the workers' side, and the Turkish Confederation of Employers' Unions (TİSK), representing the employers' side, to a meeting at 14:00 today.
ATALAY: I OBEY MY WORD
However, the negotiations began with a discussion of the committee structure. Türk-İş, representing the workers' side, announced that they would not attend the meeting unless there were changes in the committee structure. Türk-İş Chairman Ergün Atalay replied: “I keep my word” when asked if he would attend the meeting.
Türk-İş objected to the fact that employers and the government could make decisions in the committee despite workers' protests. Discussions on the structure of the Committee that determines the minimum wage broke out after the union reacted last year to the minimum wage being determined at 22 thousand 104 net lira for 2025, with a 30% increase.
Then, Minister of Labor and Social Security Vedat Işıkhan proposed reducing the number of government representatives in the committee, where workers, employers and the government each have five members, from five to one.
Türk-İş President Ergün Atalay said that they expected proposals related to their requests to be presented in written form.
ERDOĞAN: I EXPECT THEM TO PUT THEIR HANDS UNDER THE ROCK
Addressing employers at the 29th Ordinary General Assembly of TİSK in Ankara, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called on them to “take responsibility” for determining the minimum wage.
“Every positive step you take towards our fellow workers will bring productivity, profits and abundance. I always say; there are no pockets in the shroud.” Erdoğan continued as follows: “For us, it is indispensable that the relationship between workers and employers be fair. If this relationship is not built on a healthy basis, the path to exploitation and injustice will open before us. In the relationship between workers and employers, our focus is on the axis of rights and justice. A system in which no one is a victim is the top priority for all of us. me.”
MUST BE DETERMINED BY THE END OF THE MONTH
Legal; The minimum wage effective in 2026 must be determined and published by the end of the month. The attendance of 10 committee members constitutes a quorum for the meeting.
