Vedat Bilgin, Minister of Labor and Social Security, participated in the “G20 Labor and Employment Ministerial Meeting” held in Bali under the Indonesian G20 Presidency, hosted by the Indonesian Ministry of Labor.

On the first day of the meeting, attended by the ministers responsible for labor and employment issues of the G20 member and invited countries, the participating ministers had a business lunch meeting with the L20 and B20 delegations representing workers and employers. Speaking at the meeting where the L20-B20 Joint Declaration was presented, Minister Bilgin emphasized that social dialogue was one of the most important elements of working life and pointed to the substantial increase in the minimum wage in Turkey twice in 2022, which was possible with the reconciliation of the social parties.

"Tax Exemption Brought about Improvement in Household Incomes”

Bilgin also noted that exempting the amount equivalent to the minimum wage from income tax, by giving up on some of tax revenues, improved all household incomes.

Speaking at the main session of the Ministerial Meeting, Minister Bilgin stressed that the COVID-19 global pandemic has been one of the biggest problems facing humanity since the Great Depression of 1929 and the Financial Crisis of 2008, adding that recovery is only possible with solidarity and cooperation.

Minister Bilgin expressed that dealing with global problems such as famine, poverty, and insufficient food and medication became more challenging with the growing energy crisis and geopolitical tensions, and added that Turkey is among those countries suffering from the energy crisis the most, which strikes our daily lives in the form of high inflation.

“There Is a Need for More Cooperation and Solidarity Not Only in Turkey, but All over the World”

Minister Bilgin said that three important steps have come forward in Turkey to combat these problems: making economic growth sustainable in spite of inflation, supporting SMEs in the period of growth and implementing social policies to reduce the burden of inflation on employees. Minister Bilgin said that in order to fulfill these goals, various methods such as increasing the minimum wage, strengthening social dialogue and trade unions, and implementing new employment models against unemployment have been applied, and stressed that there is a need for more cooperation and solidarity not only in Turkey, but throughout the world in this period.

Attended by ministers from various countries, the meeting ended with a photo session.