DİSK-AR Report Shocked: Nine-Month Inflation and Tax Bill for Workers' Wages Exceeded 1.3 Trillion TL!

ANKARA - The Confederation of Revolutionary Trade Unions (DİSK) published the **"Wage Losses Monitoring Report "** dated October 2025, revealing the massive erosion of workers' wages caused by high inflation and the unjust tax system. According to the report, in the first nine months of 2025, the total loss in wages of approximately 17 million workers due to tax and inflation amounted to at least 1 Trillion 328 Billion TL.

41 Percent of Average Wage Eroded, Individual Loss 79 Thousand TL

DISK-AR's data show that the loss in workers' wages has reached frightening dimensions on an individual and collective basis. The main findings of the report are as follows:

• Total Bill: Considering only workers covered by the Social Security Institution (SSI), the nine-month (cumulative) loss in wages caused by the increasing tax burden and inflation exceeded 1 trillion 328 billion TL.

• Monthly Erosion: About 41 percent of the average worker's wage in September 2025 has been eroded by taxes, deductions and inflationary pressures.

• Individual Loss: In the first nine months of the year, the cumulative individual loss in the disposable wage of an average worker was calculated as 79,353 TL.

Doubled Attack Despite Raises: Inflation and Tax Burden

The report cited high inflation and the rapidly increasing tax burden as the main reasons for the erosion in wages.

The data show that inflation has acted as a "suction pump" that has impoverished the working class, and that there has been a massive transfer of income from workers to the wealthy.

Minimum Wage Crisis: Lack of Interim Raises Exacerbated Losses

The report noted that the decision not to give an interim increase in the minimum wage multiplied the losses.

• Monthly Loss of Minimum Wage: In September 2025, the loss of the minimum wage against inflation alone was set at 5,621 TL.

• Increased Tax Burden: The income tax paid by the average wage earner increased from 2,904 TL in January 2025 to 3,238 TL in August and September due to the impact of tax brackets.

DİSK emphasized that the increasing income tax burden and inflation further deepen income inequality through an unfair tax system and the rapid erosion of workers' disposable net (real) wages.