The third meeting of the Minimum Wage Investigation Commission as part of its efforts to set the minimum wage applicable in 2026 has ended.
Minister Işıkhan announced the decision of the Commission on Setting the Minimum Wage at the meeting he held at the Ministry with the participation of government and employer delegations.
Işıkhan stated that, as a ministry, they actively pursue all consultation mechanisms as a prerequisite for social dialogue in working life and that they continue their meetings with both workers' representatives and employers' representatives in accordance with their arbitrator role.
Işıkhan emphasized that in this process they also met with employee associations and employer representatives, collected their opinions and included them in the decision-making process:
“No matter what the circumstances are, no matter what the final decision is, we as a state cannot afford the luxury of breaking off communication with our social actors or of turning a deaf ear to demands and offers. I believe that social dialogue, which creates a culture of joint action, consensus and consultation, is a prerequisite for a healthy continuation of our working lives.”
Both our employees and our employers are essential parts of our working lives. Just as we have collaborated and worked together for the future of our country and our nation and as we have grown Türkiye together, we will continue to work towards the same goals with the same spirit of unity and solidarity. We must remember that we can only move forward by standing side by side, by being together, and not by confronting or opposing one another.”
“The main thing is that the increases don’t merge with the labels.”
Işıkhan stated that as the AK Party under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, it has a management approach that has had the vision of expanding Türkiye and keeping it afloat under all circumstances for 23 years, and said:
“This country has experienced economic attacks, major earthquakes, global pandemics and global crises, and in a very short period of time has found itself in the middle of wars, energy crises and supply chain disruptions in our region. However, I want to say this loud and clear: despite all these disasters, today we are experiencing a great recovery in all areas. As Turkey grows, becomes stronger and its economy becomes stronger, our citizens will, as always, benefit the most.”
As in the past, every improvement, progress, growth and development will return to our citizens in the future as an increase in prosperity. This is our most basic understanding, our most basic approach. When it comes to the minimum wage and other issues, the most important thing is that the increases do not disappear in the bazaar, on the market, on the market shelves and on the labels. “With the increases we want to protect the purchasing power of our citizens and improve their quality of life.”
“We also didn’t take the opposition’s populist approaches seriously.”
“We are not populists. We have never taken the populist approaches of the opposition seriously.” Işıkhan said: “We have taken care of our business, worked, developed and implemented the most realistic policies that best meet the needs of our citizens in our projects and works.” he said.
Emphasizing that as the AK Party for 23 years, they have been acting with the understanding of creating the future and not saving the day, Işıkhan continued as follows:
“We are committed to making Turkey's century a century in which work is valued, workers' rights are protected and growth spreads to the grassroots. In all our work, goals and priorities as a ministry, we strive to develop a vision of Turkish working life that is strong, competitive and production-oriented in the face of global change, while 'leaving no one out'.”
“We see this as an obligation to prepare and implement measures that will make our labor markets more resilient, prepare our social protection and social security system for the future and accelerate the skills transformation of our employees.”
“We went to great lengths to ensure the decision was balanced.”
Stating that as a ministry, they are working resolutely to establish the entire working life ecosystem in a dynamic and strong structure that can adapt to changing conditions and respond quickly to needs at any time, Işıkhan continued with his words as follows:
“We know that Türkiye's future can only be secured by making today's labor and production workforce more skilled. With this understanding, it is crucial to reach a consensus on the most accurate and reasonable common point that does not expose the rights and workforce of our workers to inflation and does not victimize our employers, not only for financial gains, but also for our social peace and sense of solidarity.”
Our main goal here is to find a level of balance that satisfies both our employees and our employers. For this reason, I would like to emphasize that we are working hard to ensure that the decision we announce today respects this balance. I would like to thank all of our community stakeholders for their positive approach throughout this process.
I would also like to thank all our unions, institutions and relevant ministries who contributed and supported our Commission's work with their opinions and recommendations, our Commissioners who ensured that the work was carried out in a healthy manner, the press representatives who followed the process from moment to moment and our workers' associations with whom we were in dialogue throughout the process.
I would like to thank TİSK and its esteemed President, Mr. Özgür Burak Akkol, who represented the employer sector in the Minimum Wage Setting Commission during the social dialogue process and actively expressed his opinions and suggestions at the meeting. “On behalf of all workers, I would like to express my gratitude to our esteemed President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who works day and night with his strong will, stands behind us in all circumstances for the future of our country and our nation, supports us and paves the way for us.”
“We have increased the minimum wage by 27 percent compared to the previous year.”
Minister Işıkhan provided the following information about the minimum wage that will apply in 2026:
“With effect from January 1, 2026, the net minimum wage was set at 28,000 75 lira and the gross minimum wage at 33,000 30 lira. With this increase, we increased the minimum wage by 27 percent compared to the previous year. We increased the minimum wage by 171 times in nominal terms and by 251 percent in real terms compared to 2002. In addition, the minimum wage we applied last year was 1,000 lira. We will continue to implement the wage support next year in the amount of 1,270 lira.
I would like to emphasize once again that we stand by our promise not to expose our employees to inflation with the new wage. Our state will continue to support our workers, employers and citizens with all its institutions and organizations. Under the leadership of our esteemed President, we will continue to shape the Turkish century with our vision of investment, production and employment.
As before, we will continue to meet all the needs of working life in consultation with our stakeholders, common sense and the unity of power. “I hope the new minimum wage will be beneficial to our working, producing and growing country and our beloved nation.”
Özgür Burak Akkol, Chairman of the Confederation of Employers' Associations of Türkiye (TİSK), also took part in the meeting.
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