The increase was announced before the rate: Journey to hunger

ECONOMY SERVICE

Millions of citizens, especially public workers and retirees, are watching the inflation rates to be announced today.

The inflation rate to be announced by the Turkish Statistical Institute ( TÜİK ), which is constantly criticized for manipulating the numbers, will also be decisive in the raise that public workers and retirees will receive.

KESK and the Union of All Retirees will make statements on the subject immediately following TÜİK's statement today. KESK will protest in front of TÜİK at 10.30 today.

PRICE INCREASES ARE LOWER THAN INFLATION RATE

KESK MYK Member Bahadır Bedricioğlu stated that TÜİK is not transparent and that by declaring low inflation rates, it is dragging the people into misery hand in hand with the government. Speaking to BirGün, Bedricioğlu said the following: “The increases made are at a lower score than the total inflation figures announced so far. In a country where all salaries are determined according to the inflation figure, TÜİK is also one of the largest employers in Turkey. The item basket where product inflation is collected has not been shared with the public since 2022. The public does not know how the given inflation rates are calculated. Calculations are made secretly from the public. The government and the IMF are pushing society into poverty and misery with figures hand in hand. Due to the late announcement of the natural gas price increase, the increase made is not part of TÜİK’s data and thus points are deducted from June inflation. The increases made to salaries are not in line with the rates the state has increased regarding its taxes. The increases made concern the entire society. TÜİK recommends rent increases that are higher than salary increases as a percentage every year. While the average rent in metropolitan cities has reached 27 thousand liras, a large part of the public is struggling to live on the poverty and hunger line.”

Bedricioğlu expressed his demands as follows: Humane wages, safe employment, determination of the poverty line as the lowest wage limit for everyone, public service in favor of the people, and guaranteeing the right to strike.

THE LIBERATION OF RETIREES IS IN ORGANIZED STRUGGLE

Zeynel Abidin Ergen, the chairman of the All Retirees Union, who will be organizing simultaneous actions throughout the country, emphasized that in an environment where pensions are melting away every passing year, the problems experienced by retirees can only be overcome through organized struggle. Ergen, who said, “In order to voice our demands more strongly and to ensure that retirees are organized, we will be holding street actions in over 40 places throughout the country,” said the following: “The increase that will be made according to the inflation rate has no equivalent in our lives. The increases made to us, especially in food prices, remain below the inflation rate. Our primary demands are to increase the pension to a level sufficient for a humane life, to recognize our union rights and to ensure easy access to healthcare. At the same time, we want the salary of a retiree who has worked for 30 years to be equal to the salary of a newly hired, unqualified civil servant.

It is imperative that any increases made globally also include retirees.”

THEY ARE SIMPLY SAYING DIE TO RETIREES!

CHP Malatya Deputy Veli Ağbaba also made a statement regarding the raise that retirees will receive in July. Ağbaba said, “The expected raise is no different than saying ‘die’ to retirees,” and made the following statements: “We anticipate that there will be a raise of around 2,500 liras with the inflation difference and that they will offer the lowest pension as 17,000 liras. However, this means nothing more than saying die to retirees. We will oppose the offer to the end. The losses of retirees over the years must be compensated and their basic salaries must be equalized to the minimum wage.”

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MISERABILITY WAGE WILL BE REGISTERED TODAY

With the consecutive price hikes, every item is rapidly becoming more expensive, and the burden on the shoulders of the citizen is getting heavier every passing day. Moreover, the price hike calendars are shaped by considering the TÜİK tables before the citizen's struggle to make ends meet. The government has done "calendar engineering" by postponing the price hikes to the beginning of July so that they do not fall within the 6-month period that will be taken as a basis in the inflation calculation. Thus, these new price hikes, which will not be included in the CPI, will suppress the rate of increases that will be reflected in the salaries of public workers and retirees. However, citizens will encounter new prices in bill payments and in the market with the beginning of the month.

SCT HIT AGAIN

The Special Consumption Tax (SCT) increase is directly caused by the increase in the Domestic Producer Price Index (D-PPI). According to the current system, the new SCT amounts calculated every 6 months based on the D-PPI rates cover a wide range of items from fuel and tobacco products to alcoholic beverages. The D-PPI was 12.92 percent in the January-May period, and it is expected to increase by 1 to 2 percent in June. In this case, a 14.61 percent increase will automatically be reflected in fuel, tobacco and alcohol products. The expected increase rate means a price increase of 2.10 TL in gasoline, 1.97 TL in diesel and 1.61 TL in LPG. The tax burden on cigarette packages will also increase by approximately 8-10 TL, and the total tax on a pack of cigarettes, including the lump sum and minimum tax, will reach 64.8 TL. The Special Consumption Tax on Rakı will increase by approximately 200 TL, reaching 1565 TL per liter. Thus, the share of tax in the total price of alcoholic beverages will increase even more.

LAST 'GAS' CONTINUE

The additional increases were not limited to indirect taxes. According to BOTAŞ’s announcement, natural gas prices increased by 24.6 percent in residences and 7.86 percent in industry as of July 2. The Energy Market Regulatory Authority announced the increase and said that changes were made to wholesale natural gas prices in line with “budget targets.” The natural gas increase made before winter has already caused concern. CHP Group Deputy Chairman Murat Emir criticized the decision with the words, “They said ‘We found 75 billion cubic meters of natural gas’ 1 month ago. The government’s century of shamelessness, which bills the public without using the gas it finds, continues at full speed.”

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RECORD IN CHERRY IN ISTANBUL

The prices of exactly 180 of the 336 products in the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ITO) Wage Earners' Living Index increased in June. The product with the highest retail price increase in the city in June was cherries, with 44.29 percent. This was followed by lemons, with 41.37 percent, beach and pool clothing, with 25.86 percent, and plane tickets, with 13.50 percent. On the food side, fruit juice, iced tea, pistachios, apples, and eggplants also drew attention with double-digit increases.