President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is scheduled to host a meeting of his Cabinet on Monday in the capital Ankara. The meeting is highly anticipated for millions of people awaiting news on new minimum wage. The situation in neighboring Syria liberated from the Baathist regime is also high on the agenda of the Cabinet.
This will be likely the last meeting of the Cabinet before 2025. The ministers will discuss domestic and foreign policy, the economy, counterterrorism, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and Israel’s attacks on Gaza among other issues, media outlets reported.
Labor and Social Security Minister Vedat Işıkhan is expected to present a report on the state of talks on the minimum wage. A major union has called for at least a 45% raise. The last raise in 2023 was about 49%, to TL 17,002 ($485). The Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (TÜRK-İŞ) has called for it to be increased to TL 29,583 after three rounds of talks with a body representing employers and with the Ministry of Labor and Social Security. The talks are expected to continue this week. Işıkhan has said after the third meeting that they would base the new minimum wage on a number that will raise the living standards of employees against inflation and they would try to balance it with a number that will also preserve the competitive edge of employers. The Cabinet is also expected to discuss the fight against overpricing that also affects millions in the country, where high inflation challenges consumers despite prospects of a significant drop in 2025.
Another topic the Cabinet will discuss is the return of millions of Syrian refugees in the country in the wake of the collapse of the Assad regime in Türkiye’s southern neighbor. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya will brief ministers and Erdoğan on the return process.
Counterterrorism, as always, will be one of the main agenda items at the meeting. The Cabinet will discuss operations against the PKK terrorist group in Iraq and Syria, as well as operations within the country. Erdoğan is expected to highlight Türkiye’s opposition to the establishment of what he previously called a “terrorist state.”
The PKK, through its Syrian wing YPG, carved out a so-called autonomous region for itself in Syria’s northeast. The YPG’s fate remains uncertain as the new administration of Syria and Türkiye press the group to lay down arms. Also regarding Syria, the Cabinet is expected to discuss future relations with the new administration, especially after the foreign minister visits Damascus on Sunday.
The Cabinet will also discuss Israel’s genocide targeting Palestinians and its expansionist ambitions in the region. Ankara is concerned that Israel, which attacked Lebanon after Gaza and targeted Iran and Syria, may set its sights on Türkiye as well. The Cabinet will discuss efforts for the prevention of Israel’s attacks on Palestine and a road map for a lasting solution to the Palestine-Israel conflict, media outlets reported.