 a month, more than four times the minimum wage of 22,104 lira ($533), to cover essential expenses, according to data released by a workers' union.){kind=link}
A family of four has to spend in excess of 90,000 lira ($2,175) a month, more than four times the minimum wage of 22,104 lira ($533), to cover essential expenses, according to data released by a workers union.
The United Metal Workers Union’s Research Center (BİSAM), affiliated with the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DİSK), calculated for the month of August what is called the poverty line in Turkey, which reflects the total amount a family of four needs to cover essential expenses such as food, housing, health care, transportation and education.
BİSAM’s August report also showed that the hunger threshold, the amount a family of four must spend monthly to maintain a healthy and balanced diet, climbed to 26,149 lira ($628), exceeding the official minimum wage.
Turkey is known for its relatively high percentage of the workforce making the minimum wage. Labor unions estimated that roughly half of all workers earn a wage similar to the minimum wage.
The report detailed that for healthy living, a man must spend 7,347 lira on food each month, while a woman requires 6,969 lira, a teenager 7,281 lira and a child 4,553 lira.
For a single adult, the poverty line reached 42,234 lira ($1,018) in August, up from 42,004 lira the previous month.
Daily spending requirements also surpassed 871 lira, with fruits and vegetables taking the largest share at 272 lira, followed by milk and dairy products at 219 lira and meat, poultry and fish at 164 lira.
BİSAM said produce made up 31.2 percent of household food budgets, followed by meat, eggs and legumes at 25.1 percent, and dairy products at 25.1 percent. Bread and cereals accounted for 11.2 percent, while other food items came in at 7.3 percent.
Over the past several years Turkey has been suffering from backsliding in its economy, with high inflation and unemployment as well as a poor human rights record. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is criticized for mishandling the economy, emptying the state’s coffers and establishing one-man rule in the country where dissent is suppressed and opponents are jailed on politically motivated charges.