Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery Convention, 1928 (No. 26) - Türkiye (Ratification: 1975)

Articles 1 and 3 of the Convention. Determination of minimum wage levels. The Committee notes that, following consultations with the Minimum Wage Determination Committee, the Government increased the national minimum wage which is set as of July 2013 at 804 Turkish liras (TRY) (approximately €342) per month. The Committee notes, in this regard, the comments made by the Turkish Confederation of Employers’ Associations (TISK) and the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (TÜRK-IS). According to TISK, it would be inappropriate to bring home working trades within the scope of the minimum wage legislation. Home working trades usually take the form of piecework, and it is impossible to determine the minimum wage for piecework in the country. Besides, it is not clear whether those working at home are self-employed or employed as workers. TISK also considers that the inflation rate should cease to be the only factor in the determination of the minimum wage, and other conditions such as an economic slowdown, decline in productivity or rise of unemployment should also be considered. In fixing the minimum wage, attention must be paid to general economic factors, such as increased investment, employment, exports and productivity, combating inflation, shrinking the irregular sector and promoting economic competitiveness. In addition, in order to prevent growing youth unemployment, a lower minimum wage should be established for young workers up to 20 years of age, and not 16. TISK refers to Eurostat statistics which show that the minimum wage in Turkey is much higher than in nine EU Member States among those that have a system of national minimum wage. It also refers to a 2011 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) publication which lists Turkey as having the highest minimum wage to median wage rate. Finally, TISK indicates that in the period 2007–11 the minimum wage increased at a cumulative rate of 53.8 per cent while the consumer price index went up at a rate of 47.5 per cent.

For its part, TÜRK-IS maintains that the level of the minimum wage is far from adequate to provide a decent standard of living. According to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), in January 2011, the subsistence minimum for a single worker was TRY900 (approximately €385) per month, and the net minimum wage announced by the Minimum Wage Board was TRY629.95 (approximately €252), which meant an income loss of 270.13 lira (approximately €108) for workers remunerated at the minimum wage rate. During the period 2007–11, the minimum wage increased in real terms by 3.2 per cent whereas during the same period the gross domestic product grew by 9.1 per cent. Today, the minimum daily wage is TRY23.37 (approximately €9.5) which is clearly insufficient to meet the worker’s basic needs. It is estimated that a worker needs to spend three quarters of the minimum monthly wage to cover an average rent. Under the pretext of the economic crisis, more sacrifices are imposed on minimum wage earners. Whereas the difference between the minimum wage and the lowest salary of a civil servant was TRY208 (approximately €83) in December 2003, it has reached TRY701 (approximately €280) today. Finally, TÜRK-IS indicates that social security contributions, income tax and unemployment insurance are deducted from a minimum wage which is already fixed at a very low level, and therefore, from the moment it is set, the minimum wage is inadequate, inconsistent and desultory. The Committee requests the Government to transmit any comments it may wish to make in reply to the observations of TISK and TÜRK-IS.

Article 4. Supervision and sanctions. The Committee recalls its previous comment in which it requested the Government to clarify whether the provisions of the Labour Code relating to the enforcement of the national labour legislation in respect of minimum wages apply to workers engaged in home work and domestic services. In its latest report, the Government indicates that although the national minimum wage is of general application and therefore covers also those workers who fall outside the scope of the Labour Law No. 4857, such as the employees in domestic services, no procedures may be envisaged against the employers who do not make any payment to home workers or domestic workers, or pay them wages at less than the minimum wage rate. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide additional explanations on any measures taken or envisaged in order to ensure that compliance with the minimum wage legislation is properly controlled and enforced in respect of home workers and domestic workers, as required under Article 4 of the Convention.