50% of TRNC workers on minimum wage, Labour Minister Aziz Gurpinar has said.

Around 50% of workers in the TRNC are only paid the minimum wage, Labour Minister Aziz Gurpinar has said.

He noted that that figure should only be 10% and that in the private sector, the figure was worse at around 58%.

Gurpinar said that the minimum wage has been turned into “a general wage” and described this as “one of the most serious problems”.

In order to solve the problem, a new law is being prepared. The provisions of the new law will be that after a minimum of one year’s employment, workers must be paid a small percentage above the minimum wage.

People employed in professions that require certificates will paid “a certain percentage above the minimum wage”.

Gurpinar pointed out that one of the problems they are facing is that while a significant portion of the working population pays social insurance contributions based on the minimum wage, some workers receive a higher salary yet still only pay social insurance based on the minimum wage.

Credit: Kibrisi Gazetesi | LGC News