2026 Minimum Wage Disk Reaction Says Salary Will Not Even Reach 30 Thousand Tl

Ömer Özyurt 30 November 2025

6 2 minutes read

DİSK President Arzu Çerkezoğlu: “We Won’t See 30 Thousand Tl With These Rates”; Mass Action Planned For December 5th Against Unjust Wage And Tax Policy

ANKARA, Turkey – A sharp warning has been issued by labor confederations ahead of the 2026 minimum wage determination process. Arzu Çerkezoğlu, President of the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DİSK), stated that 2026 will be more difficult for workers, predicting that the minimum wage will not even reach 30,000 TL based on current forecasts. The 2026 Minimum Wage DİSK Reaction highlights the severe impact of the wage-inflation spiral on workers.

📝 Section 1: The Collapse Of Purchasing Power And Real Loss

Çerkezoğlu laid out the losses experienced by minimum wage earners using concrete figures from DİSK’s analysis.

Official Loss: The minimum wage was increased by 30 percent at the start of 2025. However, inflation hit 44.4 percent. Consequently, minimum wage earners began the year immediately 14.4 percent behind in real terms.
10-Month Damage: Çerkezoğlu stated that the minimum wage earner’s loss against official inflation over 10 months totals 6,322 Turkish Lira. Therefore, the minimum wage will effectively drop to around 16,000 TL, or even 15,000 TL, by the end of 2025.
The Average Wage: Half of Turkey’s workforce earns the minimum wage. This situation shows the minimum wage has effectively become the average wage, indicating low unionization power.

💰 Section 2: Political Insistence And The Tax Burden

Çerkezoğlu responded strongly to Minister of Labor Vedat Işıkhan’s promise that the government would protect the workers’ welfare (“ezdirmedik”—we did not crush them under inflation).

Missed Targets: The DİSK President emphasized that the “targeted inflation” used by the government to determine raises “has never been met since 2009.” She added that discussing a maximum 20 to 30 percent raise for workers who have suffered such serious losses is unacceptable.
Tax Injustice: Çerkezoğlu highlighted the problem with tax equity, saying, “The tax burden on employees is too high. There are huge deductions from wages.” For this reason, simply raising the gross wage is not a sufficient solution.
2026 Warning: Çerkezoğlu warned that 2026 will be “heavier and worse” if current policies persist. Furthermore, she predicted that new taxes will be introduced on “everything from a needle to a thread” if the policies outlined in the Medium-Term Program (MTP) are implemented.

✊ Section 3: The Action Plan And Core Demands

DİSK announced plans to escalate its fight for the 2026 Minimum Wage DİSK Reaction in the coming weeks.

Action Timeline: DİSK will meet with Türk-İş and other confederations soon. In addition, they announced plans for a mass demonstration in Kocaeli on December 5th.
Fundamental Demand: DİSK’s core demand focuses on transparent and fair wage policy: The minimum wage must be a wage that allows the worker and their family to live. This means the existing system, calculated based on a single worker, must be updated to reflect the reality of “the family year.”