Pay rise dispute threatens Turkish government

[ozgurluk at xs4all.nl]

   ANKARA, July 11 (AFP) - A centrist party in Turkish Prime  
Minister Mesut Yilmaz's coalition government is threatening to quit 
his cabinet after demanding public service wages be increased to 
keep up with inflation, newspapers said Saturday. 
   Yilmaz has envisaged a 20 percent pay rise for over four million  
civil servants for the second half of 1998 at a time when the 
inflation rate on consumer prices in the first six months of this 
year was 29 percent. 
   The Democratic Turkey Party, the smallest group in Yilmaz's  
three-party coalition, is demanding a rise of 40 percent. 
   A Saturday meeting between conservative Yilmaz, Democratic  
Turkey leader Husamettin Cindoruk and a third nationalist coalition 
partner failed to produce an agreement on the pay rise. 
   The Istanbul daily Sabah quoted Cindoruk as telling party aides  
after the meeting that Democratic Turkey could even consider 
quitting the government if Yilmaz fails to meet his demand. 
   A second coalition leaders meeting to discuss the problem is  
scheduled for next week. 
   "We cannot accept anything below 36 percent," Cindoruk said,  
according to Sabah. 
   "If Yilmaz rejects our proposal, this will affect the  
government's future," another Istanbul daily, Milliyet, quoted 
Cindoruk as saying. 
   Yilmaz's government, whose highest economic priority is to fight  
Turkey's chronic inflation problem, has managed to reduce the 
year-on-year inflation on consumer prices from 101 percent in 
January to 90 percent in June. 
   The premier's objective is to continue to trend and reduce this  
year's inflation rate to below 70 percent. 
   His aides say low pay rises are key to success in fighting  
inflation. 
   They accuse Democratic Turkey of following populist policies  
aimed at boosting the support behind the party before planned 
legislative elections next spring. 
   Under a protocol signed by Yilmaz and a left-wing party backing  
the premier from outside the government in June, he is to resign at 
the end of 1998 to pave way for the creation of an interim 
government to lead Turkey to the planned April polls. 
   Yilmaz became prime minister in June last year, replacing  
Necmettin Erbakan, Turkey's first Islamic premier who resigned under 
strong pressure by Turkey's powerful pro-secular military. 
   The newspapers said the pay rise dispute was the most serious  
internal problem facing the government since it took office. 
  	   	


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