The minimum wage increase, which affects many workers in Turkey, has been announced. As of 1 January 2025, the net minimum wage was set at 22,104 liras, representing a 30% increase compared to the previous year.

At the start of the new year, the salary increases for millions of retirees and civil servants were also disclosed. Most recently, with the approval of Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek, it was confirmed that contractual public employees, civil servants, and retired civil servants would receive an 11.54% raise. The Minister of Labor and Social Security announced that, in the first half of 2025, the year declared as the “Year of Retirees” by the government, the lowest pension for SSK and Bağ-Kur retirees will be 14,469 liras. Meanwhile, on 13 January, thousands of public employees affiliated with unions such as KESK, BASK, Birleşik Kamu-İş, HÜR-SEN, and ASİM-SEN went on strike.

The government, which has imposed poverty-level wages on millions of workers, started discussing these policies well before 2025. Stating that wage increases would be tied to "targeted inflation", the economic administration implemented this policy in 2025. While setting its wage policy in this way, what does the government envision for workers in 2025? How should millions of workers and civil servants respond to these policies? Academic Özgür Müftüoğlu spoke to ANF about these issues.

"They have no choice but to distort reality"

Müftüoğlu said that the government is attempting to mislead society by distorting the truth and added: "Essentially, the policies aimed at attracting investments to Turkey and making it an appealing country for capital have already resulted in these low wage increases and increased poverty.

Naturally, they continue to implement these policies, but the situation is different. The government tries to present these policies in a distorted manner. Since they no longer have anything tangible to offer society, they attempt to create a narrative by distorting the truth. For example, they say things like ‘You are not actually hungry,’ or, ‘Wages can only be this way.’ To achieve this, they use public institutions like TÜİK (Turkish Statistical Institute) for their purposes. They announce inflation rates in an unrealistic manner. Everyone knows these figures are not accurate, but they continue to implement them both practically and officially.

For instance, the government organizes rallies in support of Palestine while simultaneously trading with Israel or implementing joint policies with Israel in Syria. It is impossible for the government to remain standing by telling society the truth or finding anything credible to say. Therefore, it resorts to distortion and fabrication, including in its wage policy."

While pointing out the manipulative nature of the government's wage policies, Müftüoğlu also noted their implementation. He added that the government fails to enforce existing laws that could benefit workers: "While implementing these wage policies, as I mentioned, they distort the truth and also fail to apply laws. For example, despite many changes, there are still legal provisions protecting workers against capital. Yet, these provisions are not enforced. On the contrary, they introduce practices that are unlawful and prevent processes where workers could defend their rights, using methods like strike bans.

Additionally, the portion of bread reaching people's tables has shrunk significantly. The government is aware that protests will rise. Reactions are already starting to grow. In 2025, they anticipate that these voices will rise significantly, and they are preparing to suppress them with harsh interventions. They are creating an atmosphere of oppression by using security forces, the judiciary, and other repressive mechanisms."

"Will the people not buy bread and water?"

Özgür Müftüoğlu, highlighting that the government will use and is already using various pressure mechanisms to implement its wage policies, also pointed out that existing union structures are being neutralized to legitimize this process. He said:  "While pursuing this low wage and impoverishment policy, they are also neutralizing sympathetic unions, for instance, by making Türk-Iş passive or manipulating the contracts made with Memur-Sen for civil servants. This creates a perception as if these are legitimate, as if they were achieved through collective bargaining. Therefore, the government uses these supportive unions as tools to legitimize its policies.

The closure of avenues for seeking justice in Turkey, the dysfunctionality of democracy, and the presence of an autocratic regime also prepare the ground for all these developments. Thus, the AKP government has created opportunities for capital to easily exploit labor. Naturally, the capital is very pleased with this, as profits soar on one side while there is an incredible increase in poverty on the other side.

In his latest statements, the President called on the public to ‘boycott high-priced goods and companies.’ People can hardly afford a single bottle of water to put in their children’s lunch boxes, or perhaps a simit or two slices of bread. Are they expected to avoid consuming this? Will they stop drinking water? Will they stop buying bread?"

"Those who use the power of production win"

At the beginning of 2025, workers at Polonez, who had been resisting for months, won their struggle. When asked whether this victory and the growing poverty could spark a wave of protests similar to those in 2022, Müftüoğlu said: "A wave of protests like those in 2022 is certainly possible. Under such extreme conditions of oppression, wage suppression, poverty, and exploitation, examples like Birleşik Metal's resistance despite the strike ban or the Polonez workers’ victories are critical.

These examples show what needs to be done. When you use the power of production and resist within the production process, you can achieve results. However, it is essential to emphasize this: one example is the metal sector, and the other is the food sector. Both involve industrialized organizations. In these industries, where workers are more organized, it is easier to use the power of production. However, in much of Turkey's labor market, wages are already at their lowest, and there is no organization. Using the power of production in such cases, like ceasing production or using it as leverage, may not be as effective. Therefore, a separate struggle is necessary. In the coming period, there will be demands for resistance, organization, and struggle. However, it is crucial that the unions and political parties leading this effort focus on this point."