Regarding the package* for the economy that AKP leader and President Tayyip Erdogan announced, a press release by the leadership of the Labour Party of Turkey (EMEP) was announced. In the press release, emphasizing that the burden of the package announced would once again be put on the back of the laborers, it was stated “Whoever ate the cake, let them pay for it.”
The press release had the following statements: “In the situation the government put the country economy, the model it imposed on the laborers is to save the millionaires, the rich, the bosses, rentiers and speculators who own the large portion of investments and comprise 0.3% of the crowd, and it is to pay them their potential loses out of the taxes collected from the people,” and further, “We do not approve of this! Since the last year alone, laborers have been impoverished by almost half through both foreign exchange rate hikes and the tax burden put on the backs of the people. True inflation reached 50%. The increase in the minimum wage has lost its meaning as soon as the price hikes were made on the basic consumer goods. Despite the foreign exchange rates went down by the guarantees provided to the capitalists and rentiers, there has been no reflection at all of that on the workers and laborers. Let it be rents or bread prices, the price increases on all basic consumer goods are still there. Moreover, the tax burden on people has been increased starting in the new year. Somebody is to be impacted by this situation. The government’s choice is known. It is to save first the companies accomplice to the government, then the bosses, rentiers and speculators, and to load the burden on the backs of the laborers. But the solution is also known. Whoever ate the cake is to pay for it, too. Laborers are in no condition to absorb any new burden.”
In EMEP’s press release, stating that it is necessary to take immediate measures to protect the laborers, it was said “All price increases are to be withdrawn. VAT at the head, all taxes taken out of the basic needs such as hydro, water, natural gas are to be refunded, additional taxes for billionaires are to be introduced. However, the government has neither will nor power to do it. It is only possible through the unification and the collective fight against the poverty, high cost of living and exploitation of the working class and the labouring people. Now is the time to spread such a fight.”
Reacting to the value loss in TL, Yusuf Kaya, EMEP Altınordu municipal leader said “The economic policy enforced is impoverishing the workers and laborers.”
Emphasizing that the volatility of foreign exchange rates exposes the size of the crisis, EMEP Altınordu municipal leader Kaya said “The economic policy enforced by the government has been bankrupt. People get more and more impoverished every day. The rate at which TL loses value has not yet been stopped. TL gaining some ground at the moment does not change anything. With such policies, TL will continue losing its value.”
Criticising the pay-out, by the state treasury for the fluctuations in exchange rate, enforced after TL lost value, Kaya said “The workers and laborers have no advantage of the enforcement compensating the foreign currency owners. Will the price hikes, made under the pretext of exchange rate fluctuations, be withdrawn? Will the hikes in manure and pesticide prices, used by farmers and peasants, be taken back? The economic policy of the government has once more exposed the class conflict. While the capital is given opportunities, the workers, peasants and pensioners have been ignored. The essential task is to prevent impoverishment of workers and laborers.”
Emphasizing that new taxes will be on the agenda due to this policy for which the budget bill negotiations have not estimated any funding, Kaya said “Government is guaranteeing to compensate the exchange rate fluctuations. There is no funding for such guarantee. In this case, there are two possible options. One is additional taxes, the other is to cut the funding for public programs such as education, health. Both of these options will bring about much more impoverishment of people. As has ben witnessed in the hikes of vehicle, environment, and property taxes, there are more taxes in the making.
Emphasizing that it is a must to fight against impoverishment, to prevent the shift of the burden of the crisis onto the backs of the people, Kaya said “There is one fact which is that we have to raise our voices against these issues. The workers and laborers must struggle together in unity. We, as the Party of Labour, call upon all labour and democracy forces for a unified fight.” (EVRENSEL DAILY)
* Erdogan had managed to reduce the interest rates in a series, one after another, by ordering the Central Bank in Islamic references. With this policy, by using cheap labour to be available through cheap TL, it had been projected that the economy would have been excited by the increase in production and the exports; however this policy has caused foreign exchange rates to increase 100% in a couple of weeks, and the prices of USD dependent goods, consequently all goods to have price hikes, and the inflation rate to go over 50%. As one USD increased from 8 TL to 18 TL, ignoring, this time, the Islamic references, Erdogan announced that TL were to be supported by re-valuating it by the rate of exchange rate changes, and that the losses, of those who have banking investments in devaluated TL, were to be compensated. By shifting the burden of the losses in the value of TL to the Treasury, he started enforcing interest rate hike. Due to that the Treasury relies on people’s taxes, in addition to the burden of increasing foreign currency rates, this policy means putting the burden of the losses, of the rich owning USD or TL, on the workers and laborers who hardly make a living, leave alone having USD or TL in a bank.
Yusuf Karadaş
Aydin Çubukçu
Fatih Polat