Police officers in Turkey administered mock clubbings to colleagues posing as protesters in an exercise held with an eye on possible labour protests related to the annual minimum wage talks that have started in the country, according to local media reports.

The first meeting of the minimum wage committee was held on December 12. There is much anxiety among Turks that the permitted wage hike will not come even close to addressing the realities of Turkey’s rampant inflation.

During the police exercise, held a day before the committee assembled, police officers also made heavy use of tear gas and water cannon equipment against colleagues. They also employed handcuffing-behind-the-back as a tactic.

Some local media praised the exercise for its authenticity. It took place in Kahramanmaras province, which borders Syria. The media was notified prior to the event. Government-run news service Anadolu Agency showed video footage recorded at the scene.

Video: Turkish police officers turned water cannons on colleagues, both male and female.

Second meeting

On December 18, the minimum wage committee convened for its second meeting. The approved hike for the 2026 minimum wage is to be agreed by the end of this month.

The 15-member commission is made up of five representatives from labour, five from employers and five from government.

About half of all workers in Turkey earn a wage similar to the minimum wage, while 11.2mn people earn the minimum wage, exactly. No other country in Europe has so many minimum wage earners, by a long shot.

30% for 2025

For 2025, Turkey hiked its net minimum wage by 30% to Turkish lira (TRY) 22,105. The cost to the employer was pencilled in at TRY 30,621 ($717).

Official annual inflation, which stood at 44% y/y at end-2024, looks set to stand at 31% y/y at end-2025. Apart from finance industry personnel, often heard complaining about the disbelief of others, hardly anyone in Turkey takes the official inflation data seriously. 

The minimum wage set for 2025 was equal to $627 when announced in December 2024. By May 26, depreciation of the lira brought its value down to $567. As of July 16, it was worth $549. As of December 18, it was worth $517.

Hunger threshold at 30,000 lira

Turkey’s hunger threshold, representing the required minimum monthly food expenditure for a four-person family, was up 45% y/y in November to TRY 29,828, according to a monthly survey conducted by yellow labour union Turk-Is.

The poverty threshold for a four-person household, meanwhile, stood at TRY 97,159 per month. The minimum cost of living for a single person was TRY 38,752.

Finance industry pushing for 25%

The finance industry has a single voice in pushing for a 25% minimum wage hike for 2026. Each day, someone from the industry talks to the media about the figure or releases a report that includes the recommended number.

So far, no figure has been pushed by other parties. A 25% increase would bring the net salary to TRY 27,631. To some observers, it does not seem possible that the government would advocate such a low hike as the resultant wage would fall below the hunger threshold.

Due to Turkey's hyperinflationary environment, minimum wage hikes had to be delivered twice in 2022 and 2023. In 2024, however, the new “orthodox” team appointed the  previous year by the government to fix the economy, was getting into its stride – it opted against a second hike.

Since 2022, Turkey has been in a price-wage spiral, although wage hikes have remained below both the official and actual inflation figures.

The minimum wage stood at TRY 2,826 at end-2021.