Turkey raises minimum wage by 50% amid high inflation

Turkey’s minimum wage has been increased by a massive 50% for 2022, Anadolu News Agency reports.

According to the news wire, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday announced that by 2022 the minimum wage will rise from 2,826 lira ($172.90) to 4,250 ($274).

Following the decision, the Turkish lira hit a record low plunging as much as 5.2 per cent to 15.595 against the US dollar.

“Our currency is known, and it is the lira, and we will not let it be swallowed,” Erdogan said, stressing he will fight the hegemony of the US dollar.

Stability, he added,  will be ensured with new measures in the coming days, however he didn’t explain what these would be.

In Turkey, annual inflation rose to 21.31 per cent in November, increasing food and gas prices. This was the highest rate since November 2018.

READ: Turkey lawmakers brawl as tensions over budget escalate

Tensions between Turkey and the US continue to grow – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]