Turkey’s Erdoğan Raises Civil Servants’ Salaries, Pensions by 25% Ahead of June Elections

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced Tuesday that his government would raise civil servants’ salaries and pensions by 25% in an effort to combat the effects of the rising cost of living. The president described the increase as being in line with the year-end inflation rate. However, Turkey’s annual inflation rate in December 2022 remained far higher, at 64.27%. Inflation hit a 24-year high of 85.51% in October 2022 but has dropped since then, and is expected to drop further in 2023. Turkey on January 1 raised the per month net minimum wage from around $294 to about $454, and the per month gross minimum wage from around $406 to about $534. Turkey also eliminated a retirement age requirement that previously prevented women from retiring before age 58 and men before age 60; with the new law in place, more than 2 million Turkish workers will be eligible for immediate retirement. The moves appear to be aimed at increasing Erdoğan’s popularity ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections, which are scheduled to be held on June 18.