President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke at the Bursa rally
Addressing citizens in Bursa, President Erdoğan said: “We will all see inflation start to fall in the second half of the year. As the burden of reconstruction in the quake-hit cities eases, we will be able to bring our workers and retirees closer to the welfare level they deserve.”
President and Justice and Development (AK) Party Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addressed citizens at the party’s rally in Bursa.
Describing inflation, which has reached the highest rates of the past five or six decades, as the top challenge troubling all the economies in the world at the present, President Erdoğan said that just like all the other countries including the U.S. and Europe, Türkiye is also working to rein in inflation.
The high cost of living affects workers and retirees the most, said the President, and added: “We raised both the minimum wage and pensions by nearly 50 percent at the beginning of the year. We increased pensioners’ eid bonuses by the same rate, too, and made retirees a one-off TL5 thousand payment. Previously, we had paid once-only TL5 thousand to all retired citizens. Moreover, we increased bank promotions to between TL8 thousand and TL12 thousand, creating another means of support for our retirees. In next July, we will revise pensions according to mid-year inflation.”
Stressing that preparations are also underway to protect merchants, public servants and housewives against the high-cost of living, President Erdoğan stated: “We therefore follow upon the promises we have made to our citizens from various walks of life, realizing them one by one. These of course do not eliminate the loss of welfare our workers and pensioners experience due to inflation. To achieve this, we have to remain firm in the implementation of our economic program and ensure price stability. That is so because no matter what you give in an atmosphere of inflation, you cannot obtain the result you look for. We will all see inflation start to fall in the second half of the year.”
