Turkey's new plan, announced Dec. 20 shortly after the lira sank to an all-time low, aims to encourage retail lira deposits by offering a state guarantee to pay the differential should the lira’s decline against hard currencies exceed banks’ interest rates.
The package of new measures offered by the Turkish government offers no remedy to the loss of purchasing power plaguing Turkey’s wage-earners, from unskilled workers to white-collar professionals amid soaring inflation.
Unprecedented sights such as kilometer-long queues for subsidized bread, cooking oil sold by the cup and groceries installing anti-theft devices on baby formula, cheese and even toothpaste speak of how purchasing power has melted in Turkey, sending millions of low-income people into deeper poverty.
The currency turmoil, which sharply worsened in September as the Central Bank embarked on controversial rate cuts policy has had a staggering impact on the middle class as well, stoking an already alarming brain drain.
In the crucial health sector, employees remain disgruntled with their pay, even more so due to the extraordinary workload they have endured during the pandemic.
The average doctor’s salary was about 10,000 liras in early December, according to a health workers’ trade union, yet many physicians and other health workers earn much less.
Harsh working conditions and growing violence against doctors in hospitals have only added to their grievances, forcing many to emigrate, mostly to Germany, or move to private practice.
Analysts believe these people are crucial for the country’s progress and the erosion of their purchasing power would lead to declines in production and productivity.
The desire to move abroad is on the rise among not only doctors and other professionals, but also university freshmen.
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