EMEP Chair Ercüment Akdeniz reacted to the inflation rate: “The slogan that overthrew previous capitalist governments was: 'Labour and the civil servant is on a general strike, hand in hand!' Today's need is also a unified labour struggle."
According to the figure released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), inflation rates for December rose to 36.08 percent year-on-year.
This figure was the highest inflation rate seen since September 2002.
The lowest annual increase was in the communication main group at 8.76 percent. In comparison to the same month of the previous year other main groups with low growth were education with 17.23 percent and alcohol with 20.02 percent, respectively. Next up with 20.02 percent was alcoholic drinks and tobacco, followed that with 20.13 percent came clothing and footwear.
In contrast, the main groups with a high increase compared to the same month of the previous year were respectively transport with 53.66 percent, food and soft drinks with 43.80 percent and household goods with 40.95 percent.
With regards to the main spending groups, the main groups with the least increase in December 2021 were with 0.13 percent increase in education, followed by health with 3.55 percent and communication with 3.65 percent. In comparison, in December 2021 the main groups with high increase are transportation with 28.49 percent and household goods with 16.54 percent, respectively. Food and soft drinks saw an increase of 15.99 percent.
In December 2021, excluding unprocessed food products, energy, spirits and tobacco and gold rose to 13.90 percent compared to the previous month, 34.89 percent compared to December of the previous year, 34.89 percent compared to same month last year and its twelve-month average was 19.55 percent.
With the release of the inflation figures, the rate of increase for current civil servants and retired civil servants became clear. Accordingly, retired, and current civil servants will receive a 27.9 percent increase in their wages to reflect the changes in collective agreement and inflation rates.
According to the inflation data of the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) for the period of December 2021, the Consumer Price index (CPI) increased by about 25.5 percent in the second half of last year. Thus, in the 6-month period, the 3 percent increase under the collective agreement for the second half of the year was exceeded. Therefore, seeing an approximate 22.9 percent difference in the inflation rates.
In line with the collective agreement provisions for civil servants to be implemented in the first half of this year is expected to see an increase of 5% in civil servant wages. Accordingly, with the addition of the inflation difference of 22.9 percent, the salary and monthly increases of the contracted and civil servant pensioners is to be 27.9 percent.
Meanwhile, the pensions of SSK and Bag-Kur pensioners are calculated at the rate of inflation for the last 6 months of last year. However, it’s going to go up which will increase to about 25.5 percent.
Civil servants and civil servants' pensions to be paid after inflation figures are released. EMEP Chair Ercüment Akdeniz reacted to the 27.9 percent increase.
"After millions of minimum wage workers, civil servants and public workers were also crushed by inflation. To pensioners the misery toll is the same," Akdeniz further said;
“The slogan that overthrew previous capitalist governments was: 'Labour and the civil servant is on a general strike, hand in hand!' Today's need is also a unified labour struggle." (EVRENSEL DAILY)
Hediye Levent
Yusuf Karadaş