The Theatre of Determining the Minimum Wage Has Begun!

News:

The schedule of meetings for the work on determining the Minimum Wage has become clear. The Minimum Wage Determination Commission, consisting of employee, employer and state representatives, will hold its first meeting on December 7 and the second meeting on December 14 in order to determine the minimum wage for the year 2023. After the three meetings to be held, the 2023 minimum wage hike will be announced. The minimum wage hike is expected to be announced as of the last week of December. (Agencies)

Comment:

The minimum wage determination studies, which have become almost the general wage in Turkey and which are eagerly awaited by an average of 10 million employees, are being entered this year in the atmosphere of the 2023 elections. In fact, it would be more correct to call these works “Minimum Wage Theatre”. Because the determination commission of 15 people, who do not know what it means to work with the minimum wage in their lives, is trying to determine the monthly wage of 10 million employees on how to live without dying.

In this theatre, first, an environment is created against the workers by ensuring the majority in the state-boss cooperation, then the workers' representatives play their cheap roles by supposedly getting angry, threatening to leave the table, explaining red lines, and finally, labour and mental exploitation continues by setting a figure at the same level as the hunger limit.

In fact, the Minimum Wage was designed actually on a press conference where the Minister forgot his microphone to turn off three years ago. The amount was planned as 7785 Turkish Liras for the year 2023.

Imagine that a labour representative receives a wage at the level of the hunger limit for those he represents. Again, imagine a state that, accompanied by the media chorus it has received behind it, is marketing this misery fee as a “gospel” to its people. Moreover, by taking back what he gave with a spoon on the one hand with a scoop on the other! On the other hand, large capitalist companies, which have all kinds of material privileges in cooperation with the state, do not even consider the increase in the inflation rate worthy of their workers. Indeed, this is a despicable theatre.

On the other hand, President Erdogan says that they do not oppress workers with inflation after every announced minimum wage. Of course, Erdogan's words are also a big lie. Because, before the minimum wage amount was determined, increases were made to basic items such as food, clothing, housing, transportation decisively. Moreover, in addition to the exorbitant hikes of up to 200% in electricity and natural gas during 2022, the state is leading the fury of greedy capitalist companies to crush the low-income with a 122% hike in tax and fee rates in 2023.

While the annual inflation rate announced by the state this year is 85%, the actual inflation has exceeded 150%. The minimum wage is expected to be increased by a maximum of 50%. In other words, the increase in the minimum wage has already evaporated before it has yet entered the employee's pocket. Moreover, the solution to the issue is not to raise the minimum wage at the rate of inflation.

The main problem is the minimum wage itself, which is absolutely impossible for a person to along with. Moreover, the main problem is the capitalist system itself, which takes from the poor and gives to the rich. In the capitalist system, where taxes are levied even on the minimum wage, people are not valued in any way. The capitalist system is cruel, immoral and a system that must be destroyed.

The solution is the economic system of Islam. There is no such thing as a minimum wage in the Islamic economic system. A wage is determined between the employee and the employer according to the type of work, the difficulty and the benefit provided decisively. Just as the state will not set a minimum wage, the employee's salary cannot be confiscated under the name of tax. Taxes are levied only on the rich and according to the needs of the state.

The Islamic economic system does not prohibit wealth like Communism, nor does it allow every path to wealth like capitalism. It establishes a unique balance in the economy thanks to its special provisions that prevent wealth from being a commodity that circulates only among the rich. Therefore, prosperity is the only source of peace and humanly living. The Islamic economic system can only be implemented by the hand of the Islamıc state, and it is the responsibility of every Muslim to work to establish that state.

(كَيْ لَا يَكُونَ دُولَةً بَيْنَ الْاَغْنِيَٓاءِ مِنْكُمْۜ)

“So that wealth may not merely circulate among your rich.” [Hashr: 7]

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Muhammad Emin Yildirim