Turkey is raising its minimum wage 8 percent as of New Year's Day, to just over TL 1,400 ($397) per month, the country's labor minister said yesterday.

"The minimum wage in Turkey is rising from TL 1,300 per month to TL 1,404 per month as of 2017, after reaching an agreement with stakeholders," Labor Minister Mehmet Müezzinoğlu told reporters at a press conference.

The new gross minimum wage, before such deductions as social security premiums and income taxes, is TL 1,777.

The Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (Turk-İş), representing the wage workers, previously demanded TL 1,668.90, which was reported to be the net living cost for laborers working in heavy industrial jobs by the Turkish Statistical Institute (Turkstat) last year.

Therefore, the new wage set by the Minimum Wage Determination Commission, made up of government officials and representatives of workers and employers, is significantly below the demand of workers' representatives.

In protesting the decision, Turk-İş did not sign the latest minimum wage raise on the ground that the new wage does not comply with the "living conditions" provided for in the Constitution and stated, the state did not perform its duty to financially protect the wagers.

Last year the minimum wage got a hike of nearly 30 percent to TL 1,300, in line with the ruling Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) campaign pledge ahead of the Nov. 1 elections to raise the wage substantially.

The Minimum Wage Determination Commission, consisting of wage workers, employers and government representatives, held the first meeting on Dec. 6 to determine the minimum wage for 2017.