North minimum wage now just €25 lower than Republic

The north’s minimum wage was raised to a gross figure of 34,070TL (€975) per month late on Monday night, bringing the figure up to just €25 lower than that of the Republic.

The new net figure of 29,640TL (€848) is €37 lower than that of the Republic, where the gross minimum wage is €1,000 and the net minimum wage is €885.

The new minimum wage represents a more than 5,000TL increase on the previous figure of 24,000TL, which was set in January. The increase will be applied retroactively to all work carried out since the beginning of May.

In terms of euro value, the new figure is €162 more than the previous minimum wage, and €119 more than the previous minimum wage was worth when it was set in January.

As well as being just shy of that of the Republic, the north’s new gross minimum wage is higher than that of 13 European Union member states, including Greece.

Unlike in January, the minimum wage did not pass unanimously through the north’s minimum wage determination commission, with Cyprus Turkish Employers’ Union representative Cengiz Alp saying he had voted against it.

“Employers are not guilty for inflation happening in this country,” he said, adding that the minimum wage is now 80 per cent of the north’s average salary, compared to just 30 per cent in the Republic.