PURPOSE

In 2012, the İLKE Association of Science, Culture, and Education and the Turkish Entrepreneurship and Business Ethics Association (İGİAD) prepared the research “HUMANITARIAN WAGE for Dignified People and Dignified Living” for the purpose of contributing to developing a wage policy that will provide humane livelihood through the country. This research discussed the scientific background of the Humanitarian Living Wage (HLW), which has been applied by İGİAD since 2008, and addresses all aspects of how a humanitarian wage needs to be.

SCOPE AND PURPOSES OF THE PROJECT

The Scope of the Project

Together with the research, the concept of humanitarian wage, its framework, and basic features have been brought to the economic literature as a clear concept. The main difference between humanitarian wage and minimum wage is that humanitarian wage addresses the issue with a human-centered approach, unlike the capitalist economic system that does not limit itself with humanitarian and moral principles. In this approach, employees don’t find their position just through efficiency but also through their asset values. Additionally, employees’ social needs are also considered together with their essential needs in setting their wage. This is because even though people are not considered much in liberal economic theories, they naturally are a social asset. Another quality of the humanitarian wage is that the value given to labor is not confined to a purely economic perspective. The humanitarian wage, which promotes an ethical and fair approach, encourages every segment of society to assume responsibility in order to ensure sustainable sharing of the social revenue.

The Purposes of the Project

The emphasis on social participation is the most important condition of offering a realistic alternative to the minimum wage practice that is determined by state mechanisms and laws. The humanitarian wage, which identifies the minimum conditions for being able to live humanely and in a way befitting human dignity, aims to provide an equitable and sustainable contribution to the matter of labor.